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Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided FNA pp 1–14Cite as

History of Thyroid Ultrasound

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Abstract

The thyroid is amenable to ultrasound study because of its superficial location, vascularity, size, and echogenicity. In addition, the thyroid has a very high incidence of nodular disease, the vast majority benign. Most structural abnormalities of the thyroid need evaluation and monitoring but may not require intervention. Between 1965 and 1970, there were seven articles published specific to thyroid ultrasound. In the last 5 years, there have been over 10,000 articles published. Thyroid ultrasound has undergone a dramatic transformation from the cryptic deflections on an oscilloscope produced in A-mode scanning, to barely recognizable B-mode images, followed by initial low-resolution gray scale, to current high-resolution images. Recent advances in technology, including harmonic imaging, spatial compound imaging, elastography, and three-dimensional reconstruction, have all furthered the field.

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Abbreviations

AACE:

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

AIUM:

American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine

ATA:

American Thyroid Association

ECNU:

Endocrine Certification in Neck Ultrasound

MHz:

Megahertz

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to acknowledge the work of Dr. Joseph Woo and his excellent web-based overview of the history of ultrasound. Relevant parts of his work with application to thyroid ultrasound have been presented here. For his full text, please access http://www.ob-ultrasound.net/ history1.html.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Thyroid Center of New Hampshire, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH, USA

    Robert A. Levine MD, FACE, ECNU

  2. Jackson Thyroid & Endocrine Clinic, PLLC, Jackson, MS, USA

    J. Woody Sistrunk MD, FACE, ECNU

Authors
  1. Robert A. Levine MD, FACE, ECNU
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  2. J. Woody Sistrunk MD, FACE, ECNU
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert A. Levine MD, FACE, ECNU .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Daniel S. Duick

  2. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Thyroid Center of New Hampshire, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH, USA

    Robert A. Levine

  3. Florida State University, College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Mark A. Lupo

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Levine, R.A., Sistrunk, J.W. (2018). History of Thyroid Ultrasound. In: Duick, D., Levine, R., Lupo, M. (eds) Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided FNA . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67238-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67238-0_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67237-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67238-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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