parathyroid gland

American

noun

Anatomy.

any of several small oval glands usually lying near or embedded in the thyroid gland.

parathyroid gland British

noun

any one of the small egg-shaped endocrine glands situated near or embedded within the thyroid gland: they secrete parathyroid hormone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

parathyroid gland Scientific

/ păr′ə-thī′roid /

Any of four kidney-shaped glands located behind or within the thyroid gland of many vertebrate animals.
◆ The parathyroid glands secrete parathyroid hormone, which regulates the amount of calcium in the blood.

Etymology

Origin of parathyroid gland

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

parathyroid gland

Cells in parathyroid gland sense calcium decrease causing parathyroid hormone release and stimulating calcium absorption.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Perhaps the worst shock of early camp was news that Lester, a cancer survivor long ago, had such problems with low energy that he needed surgery to have a parathyroid gland removed.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2021

When the receptors are full, the parathyroid gland stops secreting PTH.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Hyperparathyroidism: The parathyroid gland is involved in regulating the amount of calcium in the blood.

From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2011

So Niehans injected a mass of cells from the parathyroid gland of a freshly slaughtered calf.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023