This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Palpation from behind

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Palpation is best done from the behind with the patient's neck slightly flexed to relax the sternomastoid muscles. Both hands are placed with the fingers over the gland, feeling for both lobes of the gland and its isthmus.

The sternomastoid may be pulled back with the fingers.

  • estimate the size and feel for the lower border of the thyroid; absence may signify retrosternal extension

  • shape - nodular or multinodular

  • consistency:
    • soft is normal
    • firm - simple goitre, Hashimoto's
    • stony hard - carcinoma, calcification, cyst, fibrosis, Hashimoto's
    • woody and tender - acute thyroiditis

  • tenderness - suggests thyroiditis

  • mobility - carcinoma may tether the gland.

Measurement accurately charts the size.

Localised swellings may be better defined from the front.

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page