Why we Call it the Thyroid Gland?
Word origin gives an interesting backstory to the thyroid gland.
Medical terminology is both mysterious and overlooked. We use common medical terms — coronary arteries, retina, diabetes — in everyday life without considering where those structures or diseases got their names.
Even the medications we commonly use have names that harken back to their origin or their effect on the human system. Morphine, a common opioid medication, is named after Morpheus the Greek god of sleep and dreams. Taxol, a commonly used treatment for breast cancer, is named from the genus of the Pacific Yew tree where it was derived — Taxus.
Still, other structures give an interesting glimpse into how early scientists related parts of the body they observed to the natural work around them. For example, the three small bones of the ear: Malleus, incus, and stapes, which work in series to transmit sound waves into the inner ear, received their names based on their physical appearance. The malleus (Latin for hammer) appeared to be striking its neighboring bone, the incus (Latin for anvil), while the third bone in that series, the stapes (Latin for stirrup), was named for its striking resemblance to a stirrup found on an English saddle.
