What Are the Parathyroid Glands?
A Parathyroid Specialist Explains the Calcium-regulating Glands
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A parathyroid specialist, Dr. James Norman (who founded EndocrineWeb), talks about the parathyroid glands.
Para- means “around,” so your 4 parathyroid glands are located near your thyroid gland. They should be behind it, but they can be located farther away from it. The parathyroid glands should be about the size of a grain of rice.
The parathyroid glands release parathyroid hormone (PTH), and the sole job of that hormone is to regulate how much calcium is in the blood. There is a very specific range for blood calcium, and the parathyroid glands adjust the level of parathyroid hormone they release to help maintain the calcium range.
PTH determines how much calcium you absorb from your food, how much you store in your bones, and how much the kidneys release.
If a parathyroid gland starts to produce too much PTH, it can disrupt the normal level of calcium in the blood. Over-production of parathyroid hormone is called hyperparathyroidism, and Dr. Norman is a specialist in treating this parathyroid disorder.
