Accessory thyroid gland of the lateral neck

To the Editor, A 34-year-old Turkish woman presented with a left-sided cervical accessory thyroid gland. Her B-Mode thyroid ultrasonography exhibited an accessory thyroid parenchyma adjacent to the inferolateral border of left lobe of the thyroid gland (Figure 1a). fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology (FNAC) is a frequently used primary diagnostic procedure worldwide due to its preciseness, easiness, non-invasiveness, possessing very little complications and low cost [1, 2]. The thyroid gland ectopia and accessory thyroid tissue are two patterns of the abnormal thyroid gland migration. Ectopic thyroid gland is rare phenomenon and described as a functioning thyroid tissue in an aberrant area along the embryological descending line of the thyroid gland. Its most common form is known as lingual thyroid, accounting for 90 %. Aproximately 70 % of patients will exposed to the hormonal status of sub-clinical hypothyroidism [3]. These phenomenon may later undergo a malignant transformation [4]. An accessory thyroid gland is determined as a permanence of the thyroidal parenchyma anywhere from the base of the tongue to the thyroid isthmus, with the majority of the functional thyroid in its normal pre-tracheal area. The incidence of accessory thyroid gland is unknown [3]. Of 58 cadavers just one (1/58) was detected as the accessory thyroid gland on the thyroid cartilage by Braun et al [3]. Radkowski et al [5] performed thyroid US on 230 cases of the throglossal duct cyst and detected four cases (4/230) with the accessory thyroid tissue and three (3/230) with the ectopic thyroid gland. Therefore, they propunded the possibility of their equality in the incidence. The accessory thyroid glands are classified into five groups, based on their anatomical location: (1) cranial, (2) caudal, (3) lateral, (4) ventral, and (5) dorsal glands. They usually are founded along the former course of the thyroglossal duct and emigrate laterally [6]. Pyramidal lobes, superior accessory thyroids, retrotracheal, inferior/lateral extensions or extrusions are involved in the reasons of the recurrent thyroid diseases as the anomalies of the gland. Richards et al [3] asserted both thyroid gland ectopia and accessory thyroid tissue being vulnerable to the same potential diseases as a normally-situated thyroid gland. An accessory thyroid gland do not lead to clinical complication except in cases of the pathologic conditions such as goitre, malignancy, and the others. A thyroid FNA were planned,