Most people have four pea-sized glands, called parathyroid glands, on the thyroid gland in the neck. Though their names are similar, the thyroid and parathyroid glands are completely different.
The parathyroid glands make parathyroid hormone (PTH). This helps your body keep the right balance of calcium and phosphorous. If your parathyroid glands make too much or too little hormone, it disrupts this balance.
When parathyroid glands secrete too much PTH, you have “hyperparathyroidism” and your blood calcium rises.
In many cases, a benign tumor on a parathyroid gland makes it overactive. Or, the extra hormones can come from enlarged parathyroid glands. Very rarely, the cause is cancer.
If you do not have enough PTH, you have you have hypoparathyroidism. Your blood will have too little calcium and too much phosphorous.
Causes include injury to the glands, endocrine disorders or genetic conditions. Treatment is aimed at restoring the balance of calcium and phosphorous through medication or surgery.
For more information, see “Few Thyroid Nodules are Malignant.”
