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Head and Neck: Thyroid

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Atlas of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology

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Abstract

Thyroid nodules are a frequent finding in the general population, with palpable nodules found in 4–7 % of adults and subclinical nodules identified in up to 70 % of adults, although the vast majority (90–95 %) of these nodules are benign. Since its introduction in the early 1950s, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the thyroid has proven to be an integral and reliable method of evaluating patients presenting with a thyroid mass. The addition of thyroid FNA to clinical evaluation of a thyroid nodule has dramatically increased the triage efficiency: not only determining which nodules are at greatest risk of malignancy and should undergo surgery but also indicating which nodules are benign, thus sparing the patient unnecessary surgery. As such, thyroid FNA acts as both a diagnostic test and a screening test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Paul A. VanderLaan MD, PhD

  2. Department of Pathology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeffrey F. Krane MD, PhD

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  1. Paul A. VanderLaan MD, PhD
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  2. Jeffrey F. Krane MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Jeffrey F. Krane MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Cytology, Skåne University Hospital, Skåne, Sweden

    Henryk A. Domanski

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VanderLaan, P.A., Krane, J.F. (2014). Head and Neck: Thyroid. In: Domanski, H. (eds) Atlas of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2446-7_5

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