The parathyroid gland is an essential part of the human anatomy, regulating the crucial calcium supply to the entire body.

What exactly does the parathyroid gland do, and why is it important?

This is a question most people never think to ask themselves.

This doesn’t, however, make it any less important.

What and Where is the Parathyroid?

The “regular” thyroid gland, a large endocrine gland located in the throat performs the essential bodily function which produces hormones which control the body's metabolism.

The parathyroid glands, on the other hand, are those other tiny glands (about the size of a pea) which are placed directly behind the thyroid gland (the prefix “para” means “similar to,” or “like,” which implies that the parathyroid glands are similar to the regular thyroid) actually do.

They must be important. After all, the average human being has at least four of them (and sometimes as many as six or eight in the especially “gifted”).

What is its Function?

The parathyroid gland, simply put, controls the supply of calcium to the entire body.

Calcium, of course, is that element which most people know (from milk commercials, mainly) is essential to normal growth and healthy teeth and bones.

In order to do perform this function, the parathyroid glands release parathyroid hormones (just as the thyroid glands release thyroid hormones), the amount of which is closely related to the calcium levels in the body, which is sensed by calcium receptors in the glands themselves.

In the case that the calcium levels should drop below desired levels, the hormones are released into the blood system, which stimulate osteoclasts (which already exist in the blood), which, in turn, head directly for the nearest bone, breaking down some of the hard tissue, turning it into calcium, and releasing it into the blood in order to make up for the deficiency.

This is all part of the natural process of the body, and while it may sound harmful (tiny little cells eating away at bones doesn’t sound entirely helpful), it truly does serve to help bones in their natural process of growth and regeneration.

A Delicate Process

As one may already expect, this process is somewhat fragile and needs to be well-regulated if it is to work (like everything else in the human body), but of course, sometimes bodily systems don't exactly work like they are supposed to.

Often times in this case, this can result in a condition known as hyperparathyroidism. This condition is, for the most part, exactly what it sounds like, but is certainly not very pretty.

Most often, hyperparathyroidism begins when, for no particular reason that scientists have been able to discern, one or more parathyroid gland grows into a tumor (usually a benign one, but a tumor nonetheless), which often causes the gland to become a little “hyper,” producing too many hormones, which causes the osteoclasts to work a little overtime and start eating away too much of your bones, which is really never pleasant.

Since the condition of hyperparathyroidism was first discovered in 1925, the symptoms thereof have often been described in beautifully poetic form: “Moans, Groans, Stones and Bones.” Translation: Myalgia (Moans), Abdominal pains (Groans), Kidney Stones (Stones) and Bone Loss (Bones). Not a pretty picture.

Cures for Hyperparathyroidism

So with this in mind what should one do if they feel as if they might be suffering from a case of hyperparathyroidism?

The most common option is to simply allow a doctor cut their neck open and take out the gland that's acting up.

The only downside to this is the fact that most people aren’t too fond of doctor cutting their necks open.

Nevertheless, it is a relatively simple procedure (sometimes as quick as twenty minutes), after which often times the hyperparathyroidism symptoms have been known to subside within a matter of just a few hours.

Such a quick cure is just another one of the joys of living in the twenty-first century.

The Legacy of the Parathyroid

Apart from the potential (and thankfully very rare) problems, one should be grateful for the parathyroid, for without it, the body would have no way of regulating its amount of calcium at any given time, which is worse than it sounds, for both the muscular and the nervous system need these levels to be controlled within a very narrow range in order to function properly.

In addition, we should be thankful to the Swedish medical student Ivar Sandstrom, who first discovered the parathyroids in 1880, making it the very last of the major organs discovered in humans and further enabling medical science to better understand how the human body works, and how we might fix it should the need ever arise.

Thank you, Ivar.

References:

Parathyroid.com.

“Your Parathyroid.”