Identification of parathyroid glands: anatomical study and surgical implications

While performing thyroid surgery, the unintentional lesion of parathyroid glands and laryngeal nerves results in a profound alteration in patient's quality of life. To minimize thyroid surgery morbidity, the surgeon must have an in-depth knowledge of the thyroid gland morphology and its anatomical relations in the anterior compartment of the neck. This work intended to simulate total thyroidectomies using cadaver parts and isolate fragments that may correspond to parathyroid glands. The thyroid glands and "eventual" parathyroid glands were then submitted to histological study. Ninety-two cadaver parts were used for macroscopic dissection. A total of 242 fragments were isolated, 154 of which were confirmed through histological study to be parathyroid glands. In 36 cases, all "eventual" parathyroid glands isolated during dissection were confirmed through histological verification. In 40 cases, some glands were confirmed. In 16 cases, none of the "eventual" parathyroid glands was confirmed. The 92 thyroid glands isolated during dissection were also submitted to histological study. In 21 thyroid glands, 16 parathyroid glands were identified in the histological cuts: 8 sub-capsular, 8 extra-capsular, 6 intra-thyroidal. There was no statistical difference between the dimensions of the parathyroid glands. Parathyroid gland identification and preservation are sometimes a challenge during thyroid surgery, difficulty that has been demonstrated during dissection of cadaver parts.