With the change of people’s health concept, annual health checkups have become a guarantee for the people to maintain their health. Ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland has become an integral part of health checkups. Many people’s thyroid ultrasound results indicate one kind of “abnormality” or another, and some friends are even very worried if there is a “big problem” with the thyroid. So how do you interpret the thyroid test report issued by your doctor? 1. What is a thyroid nodule? In fact, thyroid nodules, thyroid swellings (lumps), thyroid occupancy, etc. are all descriptions of structures found by ultrasound doctors on the ultrasound machine that are different from normal thyroid tissue. This is because most of the so-called nodules are benign. You don’t have to worry about a “nodule” on your thyroid because the doctor’s detailed description of the nodule is more indicative of the nature of the nodule. 2. Why is the size of the nodule different from one hospital to another? Measuring the size of thyroid nodules is an important part of a doctor’s description of the nature of thyroid nodules, but since most thyroid nodules are not round, the angle and direction of measurement may vary from doctor to doctor and may be different from hospital to hospital. There is no need to get hung up on why the size of the thyroid nodule varies. It makes more sense to repeat the ultrasound at the same hospital after a few months to observe any changes in the size of the nodule. It should be noted that the size of thyroid malignant tumor is often constant, so it needs to be judged in combination with other indicators. 3.What is meant by unclear border of thyroid nodules? The so-called clear border or unclear border is a doctor’s judgment of the nodule with or without envelope. The unclear border is like the effect of a drop of ink on rice paper, which often indicates that the nodule is more active and the cells have the tendency to move outward, which is a very crucial indicator for clinical judgment of the nature of the tumor. Compared with the size of nodules, nodules with indistinct borders may have higher malignancy and need to be closely monitored. 4.What is calcification? Calcification is a very important clinical feature of thyroid nodules. If ultrasound indicates fine dotted or sandy calcification, especially when combined with indistinct borders, it often indicates that the nodules are malignant. In the past, coarse calcification was often a feature of benign nodules, but in recent years, there have been many nodules with coarse calcification that were eventually diagnosed as malignant. Therefore, thyroid nodules with combined calcifications should be actively managed. 5. What is glial retention? Glial retention is often reported as a “water bubble” in the process of thyroid hormone synthesis and is not a tumor at all. Therefore, even if there is about 1 cm of glial retention, long-term follow-up is sufficient and no further treatment is needed. 6.What is a cystic nodule? The formation of cystic nodules is caused by the rapid growth of thyroid tumor and intra-tumor bleeding. Therefore, the solid part is the tumor itself and the cystic part is the liquefied blood. In general, most cystic nodules are benign and even if they grow rapidly, they are merely caused by intratumoral hemorrhage. Small cystic nodules do not need surgery, but only larger cystic nodules (2cm or more) need to be treated. 7. What is echogenicity of the thyroid? This is a clinician’s description of the thyroid signal, which shows the uniformity of thyroid tissue texture and the presence of local edema, often associated with thyroid inflammation, and is not a major problem in itself. Therefore, the most important part of the ultrasound report on the thyroid gland is the size of the nodule, the clarity of the border and the presence of calcification. This is the basis for the doctor to determine the nature of the nodule and whether surgery is needed. Of course, ultrasound results alone can only make a preliminary judgment. The accuracy of an experienced ultrasonographer’s examination is certainly higher, but the final diagnosis needs to be established by combining clinical examination, puncture cytology and pathological examination for surgical resection.