(Pyramidal lobe)

Sometimes there is a third lobe present called the pyramidal lobe.

When present, this lobe often stretches up to the hyoid bone from the thyroid isthmus and may be one to several divided lobes.

The presence of this lobe ranges in reported studies from 18.3% to 44.6%.

It was shown to more often arise from the left side and occasionally separated.

The pyramidal lobe is also known as Lalouette's pyramid.

The pyramidal lobe is a remnant of the thyroglossal duct, which usually wastes away during the thyroid gland's descent.

Small accessory thyroid glands may in fact occur anywhere along the thyroglossal duct, from the foramen cecum of the tongue to the position of the thyroid in the adult.

A small horn at the back of the thyroid lobes, usually close to the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the inferior thyroid artery, is called Zuckerkandl's tubercle.