Lesson 4 ·Class 10 · The Endocrine System · Match Lab
Thyroid Gland — Thyroxine and Its Disorders
One hormone, four disorders, and the iodine behind them all
Connect each term about the thyroid gland with what it means.
Matched 0/7
Free play — tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right; each link tells you why. Switch to when you're ready to test yourself.
Three disorders come from too LITTLE thyroxine — simple goitre, cretinism in children and myxoedema in adults — and only one from too MUCH, exophthalmic goitre. Both goitres swell the neck, so look for the protruding eyes to tell them apart.
What this lesson covers
Challenges to clear
- Match every term.
- Connect exophthalmic goitre to its signs — this is the one caused by too much thyroxine.
The task
Connect each term about the thyroid gland with what it means.
What this lesson covers
- Thyroxine — Regulates basal metabolism, the rate of cellular oxidation at rest (Thyroxine sets how fast cells oxidise fuel, and so also influences general growth, ossification of bones, body temperature and mental development. More thyroxine raises metabolism, less lowers it.)
- Iodine in the diet — The active ingredient needed to produce the hormone (Without enough iodine the thyroid cannot manufacture thyroxine. This is why iodised salt is recommended, especially in hilly regions where the soil and therefore the food is iodine-poor.)
- Simple goitre — Enlargement of the thyroid seen as a swelling in the neck (Too little iodine leaves the gland unable to make enough thyroxine and it enlarges. It is a hyposecretion disorder, not an oversecretion one.)
- Cretinism — Dwarfism together with mental retardation in a child (Defective development or early atrophy of the thyroid in childhood starves the body of thyroxine exactly when growth and mental development need it most.)
- Myxoedema — Sluggishness with swelling of the face and hands in an adult (This is what hypothyroidism looks like once growth is complete: metabolism slows down, so the adult becomes sluggish and puffy rather than short.)
- Exophthalmic goitre — Protruding eyeballs, rapid heart beat and shortness of breath (This is the one hypersecretion disorder of the thyroid. Excess thyroxine drives up the metabolic rate and the eyeballs are pushed outward, which is what the name means.)
- Isthmus — The narrow interconnection joining the two lobes of the gland (The thyroid is bilobed and butterfly-shaped, lying in front of the neck just below the larynx, with the two lobes bridged by this narrow band.)
Hint
Three disorders come from too LITTLE thyroxine — simple goitre, cretinism in children and myxoedema in adults — and only one from too MUCH, exophthalmic goitre. Both goitres swell the neck, so look for the protruding eyes to tell them apart.