Associated symptoms
The thyroid gland produces vital hormones that increase metabolism. At its target organs they cause an increased oxygen and energy consumption and increase thermogenesis (heat production). In the case of congenital hypofunction, newborns do not notice the thyroid gland until after birth, as they were previously supplied by maternal hormones.
Overall, they appear apathetic, drink less, are cool, have low muscle tension and constipation. Normal neonatal jaundice (neonatal icterus) may be prolonged in them. In the further course of the disease, if not treated, they show small stature (delayed skeletal development), mental retardation, brain damage and the cranial plates close more slowly (fontanel closure).
Clearly visible from the outside are characteristics such as shaggy hair, doughy skin and an enlarged tongue. Adults show similar and further symptoms. Those affected are generally less active and slower, they suffer from weight gain, appetite loss and constipation, and may feel a slower heartbeat and intolerance to cold.
The skin may be cool, dry and pasty swollen (as in newborns) and may also have brittle hair. Edema (swelling) may occur in some parts of the body: the shins, the vocal chords (symptom of hoarseness and dull speech) and the heart. However, edema of the subcutaneous tissue, called myxedema, can also occur all over the body.
Rarely, thinning of the lateral parts of the eyebrows is also seen (together with the skin symptoms, this should therefore not be confused with neurodermatitis). In women, it can happen that their menstruation stops. In older patients, many of these symptoms may occur simultaneously and doctors may misdiagnose this as dementia or depression.
If one considers the functions of the thyroid hormones, it is clear why a malfunction can cause pain in the muscular and skeletal tissues of the body, among other things.An underfunction leads to muscle weakness, while an overfunction leads to increased protein breakdown in the muscle fibers. The latter can be painful. The same applies to bone formation and breakdown, which is subject to a delicate balance of growth hormones.
These complaints occur rarely and always decrease under therapy. Chest pain can also result from muscular or skeletal degradation processes, but should be alarming because of cardiac involvement. As already described with the accompanying symptoms, edema of the heart muscle may occur.
These can be proven by conventional heart specific examinations and also decrease in early stages by hormone therapy. The outflow of lymph takes place via the lymph node stations Noduli lymphatici thyrodei into the Nodi lymphatici cervicales anteriores profundi, further on via the Nodi lymphatici paratracheales. These are deep cervical lymph nodes and lymph nodes to the left and right of the trachea.
These are not the same ones, which are often swollen in the upper cervical area due to infections or colds. Only a professional medical examiner can clearly identify the thyroid lymph nodes at a given magnification. They can be swollen, especially in infections affecting the neck or larynx. Painless, coarse lymph nodes should be examined by a physician to rule out cancer.
