HUMAN PARATHYROID BLOOD-SUPPLY DETERMINED BY LASER-DOPPLER FLOWMETRY

The blood supply of 53 normal human parathyroid glands was studied wit h laser Doppler flowmetry in 45 patients undergoing operations on the thyroid and parathyroid glands. The inferior and superior thyroid arte ries and other vessels that might supply the parathyroid glands were o ccluded so their contribution to parathyroid perfusion could be studie d, Occlusion of the main trunk of the inferior thyroid artery resulted in a reduction of blood how by one-third, and a similar reduction was obtained after occlusion of the superior thyroid artery. The results demonstrate that the blood supply to the parathyroid glands is not as dependent on the inferior thyroid artery as has previously been sugges ted but that other routes of blood supply may be equally or, in some c ases, even more important.