The pointer is at a thyroid follicle. Which cell type lines the follicle?

The pointer is at a thyroid follicle. Which cell type lines the follicle?

• A. Goblet cells
• B. Basal lamina
• C. Microvilli
• D. Follicular cells of the thyroid gland

Answer: (D)

Thyroid follicles are lined by a single layer of specialized epithelial cells called follicular cells (thyrocytes). These cells form a continuous cup around the colloid-filled lumen, sit on a basal lamina, and are responsible for producing and processing thyroglobulin to form thyroid hormones. Goblet cells would appear in mucosal linings like the respiratory or digestive tract, not in the thyroid. The basal lamina is the basement membrane beneath the epithelium, not a cell type, and microvilli are surface features of cells, not the lining itself. So the cells that line a thyroid follicle are the follicular cells of the thyroid gland.

Thyroid follicles are lined by a single layer of specialized epithelial cells called follicular cells (thyrocytes). These cells form a continuous cup around the colloid-filled lumen, sit on a basal lamina, and are responsible for producing and processing thyroglobulin to form thyroid hormones. Goblet cells would appear in mucosal linings like the respiratory or digestive tract, not in the thyroid. The basal lamina is the basement membrane beneath the epithelium, not a cell type, and microvilli are surface features of cells, not the lining itself. So the cells that line a thyroid follicle are the follicular cells of the thyroid gland.