ABSTRACT
Introduction Thyroid disease encompasses a wide variety of inflammatory, autoimmune, nutritional and neoplastic pathologies. Although the disease states are defined using well-established criteria, there is a usually a continuum of change within the spectrum ranging from a normal thyroid (structurally and physiologically) to the extremes of disease phenotypes. Understanding where an individual patient lies in this spectrum and initiating an optimal management plan requires a detailed knowledge of the basic sciences and pathophysiology of thyroid disease.
