THYROID GLAND & TONGUE

Dr. Mujahid Khan

Development of Thyroid


The thyroid gland is the first endocrine gland to develop in embryo It begins to form about 24 days after fertilization It develops from a median endodermal thickening in the floor of a primordial pharynx Thickening soon forms a small outpouching called thyroid primordium

Development of Thyroid
 As

the embryo and tongue grow, the developing thyroid gland descends in the neck, passing ventral to the developing hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilages a short time the thyroid gland is connected to the tongue by a narrow tube, the thyroglossal duct

 For

Development of Thyroid


At first the thyroid primordium is hollow but it soon becomes solid and divides into right and left lobes The two lobes are connected by the isthmus of the thyroid gland Isthmus lies anterior to the developing second and third tracheal rings By seventh week it assumes the definitive shape and has reached its final site in the neck

Development of Thyroid
 The

thyroglossal duct has normally degenerated by seventh week proximal opening of the thyroglossal duct persists as a small pit in the tongue, the foramen cecum pyramidal lobe extends upward from the isthmus in about 50% of people

 The

A

Development of Thyroid
 The

pyramidal lobe may be attached to the hyoid bone by fibrous tissue or smooth muscle, the levator of thyroid gland pyramidal lobe and the associated smooth muscle represent a persistent part of the distal end of the thyroglossal duct

 The

Histogenesis of Thyroid
 

The thyroid primordium consists of a solid mass of endodermal cells The cellular aggregation later breaks up into a network of epithelial cords By the tenth week the cords have divided into small cellular groups A lumen soon forms in each cell cluster and the cells become arranged in a single layer around the lumen During the eleventh week colloid begins to appear in these structures, called thyroid follicles Iodine concentration and synthesis of thyroid hormones can be demonstrated

 

Thyroglossal Duct Cysts & Sinuses



Cyst may form anywhere along the course followed by the thyroglossal duct during descent of the primordial thyroid gland from the tongue Normally the thyroglossal duct atrophies and disappear A remnant of it may persist and form a cyst in the tongue or in the anterior part of the neck

Thyroglossal Duct Cysts & Sinuses



It usually lies just inferior to the hyoid bone Most thyroglossal duct cysts are observed by the age of 5 years The swelling produced is usually develops as a painless, progressively enlarging, moveable mass The cyst may contain some thyroid tissue

Thyroglossal Duct Cysts & Sinuses

 Following

infection of a cyst, a perforation of the skin occurs forming a thyroglossal duct sinus usually opens in the median plane of the neck, anterior to the laryngeal cartilages

 It

Development of Tongue


A median triangular elevation appears in the floor of the primordium pharynx near the end of 4th week, just rostral to the foramen cecum This swelling or median tongue bud is the first indication of tongue development Soon two oval distal tongue buds develop on each side of the median tongue bud

Development of Tongue


The three lingual buds result from the proliferation of mesenchyme in ventromedial parts of the first pair of pharyngeal arches The distal tongue buds rapidly increase in size, merge with each other, and overgrow the median tongue bud The merged distal tongue buds form the anterior twotwo-thirds (oral part) of the tongue

Development of Tongue
 Fusion

of the distal tongue buds is indicated by a middle groove, the median sulcus of the tongue and internally by the fibrous lingual septum tongue bud forms no recognizable part of the adult tongue

 Median

Formation of Posterior third of Tongue



It is indicated by two elevations that develop caudal to the foramen cecum Copula: Forms by fusion of the ventromedial part of the second pair of pharyngeal arches The hypopharyngeal eminence: Develops caudal to the copula from mesenchyme in the ventromedial parts of the third and fourth pairs of arches

Formation of Posterior third of Tongue



As the tongue develops the copula is gradually overgrown by the hypopharyngeal eminence and disappear As a result, the pharyngeal part of the tongue develops from the rostral part of the hypopharyngeal eminence The line of fusion of the anterior and posterior parts of the tongue is roughly indicated by a VVshaped groove called terminal sulcus

Formation of Posterior third of Tongue



Pharyngeal mesenchyme forms the connective tissue and vasculature of the tongue Most of the tongue muscles are derived from myoblasts that migrate from the occipital myotomes The hypoglossal nerve (CN ) accompanies the myoblast during their migration and innervates the tongue muscles as they develop The entire tongue is within the mouth at birth, its posterior third descends into the oropharynx by 4 years of age

Papillae and Taste Buds



Lingual papillae appear towards the end of the eighth week The vallate and foliate papillae appear first, close to the terminal branches of the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN ) The fungiform papillae appear later near termination of chorda tympani branch of the facial nerve

Papillae and Taste Buds



The most common lingual papillae, known as filiform papillae because of their threadlike shape, develop during early fetal period (10-11 (10weeks) They contain afferent nerve endings sensitive to touch Taste buds develop during 11-13 weeks 11Most taste buds form on the dorsal surface of the tongue

 

Papillae and Taste Buds

 Fetal

responses in the face can be induced by bitter tasting substances at 262628 weeks, indicating that the reflex pathways between taste buds and facial muscles are established by this age

Nerve Supply of the Tongue



The development of tongue explains its nerve supply The sensory supply to the mucosa of almost the entire anterior two-thirds of the tongue is from twothe lingual branch of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve This nerve is the nerve of first pharyngeal arch and this arch forms the median and distal tongue buds

Nerve Supply of the Tongue



Facial nerve is the nerve of second pharyngeal arch Its chorda tympani branch supplies the taste buds in the anterior two-thirds of the tongue twoexcept the vallate papillae The facial nerve does not supply any of the tongue mucosa, except for taste buds in the oral part of the tongue

Nerve Supply of the Tongue



The vallate papillae in the oral part of the tongue are innervated by glossopharyngeal nerve (CN ) of the third pharyngeal arch This is due to the reason that mucosa of posterior two third of the tongue is pulled slightly anteriorly as the tongue develops The posterior third of the tongue is innervated mainly by the glossopharyngeal nerve, which is a nerve of third pharyngeal arch

Nerve Supply of the Tongue



The superior laryngeal branch of the vagus nerve (CN ) of the fourth arch supplies small area of the tongue anterior to the epiglottis All muscles of the tongue are supplied by the hypoglossal nerve (CN ), except for palatoglossus, which is supplied from pharyngeal plexus by fibers arising from the vagus nerve