Editing Thyroid (section)

===Evaluation===
The thyroid is [[Medical examination|examined]] by observation of the gland and surrounding neck for swelling or enlargement.<ref name=Clinical_examination /> It is then [[palpation|felt]], usually from behind, and a person is often asked to swallow to better feel the gland against the fingers of the examiner.<ref name=Clinical_examination /> The gland moves up and down with swallowing because of its attachments to the thyroid and cricoid cartilages.{{sfn|Elsevier's|2007|p=342}} In a healthy person the gland is not visible yet is [[palpation|palpable]] as a soft mass. Examination of the thyroid gland includes the search for abnormal masses and the assessment of overall thyroid size.<ref>{{cite book |title=Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck |last1=Fehrenbach |last2=Herring |publisher=Elsevier |year=2012 |page=158 |isbn=978-1-4377-2419-6 }}</ref> The character of the thyroid, swellings, nodules, and their consistency may all be able to be felt. If a goitre is present, an examiner may also feel down the neck consider [[Percussion (medicine)|tapping]] the upper part of the chest to check for extension. Further tests may include raising the arms ([[Pemberton's sign]]), listening to the gland with a [[stethoscope]] for [[bruit]]s, testing of reflexes, and palpation of the lymph nodes in the head and neck. 

An examination of the thyroid will also include observation of the person as a whole, to look for systemic signs such as weight gain or loss, hair loss, and signs in other locations – such as protrusion of the eyes or swelling of the calves in Graves' disease.{{sfn|Harrison's|2011|p=2228}}<ref name=Clinical_examination>{{Cite book|title=Clinical Examination|last=Talley|first=Nicholas | name-list-style = vanc |publisher=Churchill Livingstone|year=2014|isbn=978-0-7295-4198-5|pages=Chapter 28. "The endocrine system". pp 355–362}}</ref>