Overall anatomic relationships of the thyroid and surrounding structures are shown. Note the course of the inferior thyroid artery, behind and perpendicular to the carotid artery. The superior thyroid artery and external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve run in close approximation.
Reproduced with permission from: Surgical Anatomy of the Thyroid, Parathyroid, and Adrenal Glands. In: Mastery of Surgery, Fischer JE, Bland KI, Callery MP (Eds), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia 2006. Copyright © 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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