Biomaterial Database

Position of ultimobranchial body cysts in the human fetal thyroid gland. 1979

B A Fraser, and J W Duckworth

In a series of 21 human fetal thyroid glands examined histologically in serial sections, seven ultimobranchial body cysts were found. The position of these cysts correlated well with the distribution of calcitonin-containing cells found by previous investigators in the adult thyroid gland. Ultimobranchial body cysts found external to the thyroid lobes may offer a developmental explanation for the paucity of calcitonin found in some adult thyroid glands. The close developmental relationship between the parathyroid gland and the ultimobranchial body could explain the presence of calcitonin found in these glands in some adults.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D002116	Calcitonin	A peptide hormone that lowers calcium concentration in the blood. In humans, it is released by thyroid cells and acts to decrease the formation and absorptive activity of osteoclasts. Its role in regulating plasma calcium is much greater in children and in certain diseases than in normal adults.	Thyrocalcitonin,Calcitonin(1-32),Calcitrin,Ciba 47175-BA,Eel Calcitonin,Calcitonin, Eel,Ciba 47175 BA,Ciba 47175BA
D003560	Cysts	Any fluid-filled closed cavity or sac that is lined by an EPITHELIUM. Cysts can be of normal, abnormal, non-neoplastic, or neoplastic tissues.	Cyst
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013961	Thyroid Gland	A highly vascularized endocrine gland consisting of two lobes joined by a thin band of tissue with one lobe on each side of the TRACHEA. It secretes THYROID HORMONES from the follicular cells and CALCITONIN from the parafollicular cells thereby regulating METABOLISM and CALCIUM level in blood, respectively.	Thyroid,Gland, Thyroid,Glands, Thyroid,Thyroid Glands,Thyroids
D014460	Ultimobranchial Body	A diverticulum from the fourth pharyngeal pouch of an embryo, regarded by some as a rudimentary fifth pharyngeal pouch and by others as a lateral thyroid primordium. The ultimobranchial bodies of lower vertebrates contain large amounts of calcitonin. In mammals the bodies fuse with the thyroid gland and are thought to develop into the parafollicular cells. (Stedman, 25th ed)	Bodies, Ultimobranchial,Body, Ultimobranchial,Ultimobranchial Bodies