How does a doctor approach your thyroid problem?

By structural, we mean the effect of the gland on the surrounding structures. An enlarged gland in the neck can press on the trachea (producing stridor, breathing difficulty), the recurrent laryngeal nerve (producing dysphonia), the oesophagus (producing dysphagia), etc. It is important to remember that there may not be a direct relation between structure and function, i.e. an enlarged gland may be producing less thyroid hormone, i.e., goitrous hypothyroidism or a normal size gland can be overactive, i.e. Graves’ hyperthyroidism. The third step (aetiological) is to find out the cause, i.e. whether the thyroid dysfunction is due to cancer, an immune related problem, deficiency of iodine or some congenital defect.