Parathyroid Oxyphil Cells (Mystery Cells)

Big, pink, and packed

Oxyphil cells (say OX-ee-fill) live in the parathyroid glands, four tiny glands behind the thyroid in your neck. They sit among the much more common chief cells.

Oxyphil cells are bigger than chief cells. When scientists stain them for a microscope, they turn bright pink.

That pink comes from what's inside: they are packed full of mitochondria, the tiny parts that make energy for a cell.

A job scientists are still solving

The chief cells next door make parathyroid hormone, which keeps calcium in your blood at the right level.

Nobody knows for sure what oxyphil cells do. Some scientists think they may be chief cells that have changed over time. Some studies show they can make a little parathyroid hormone too.

Finding out is part of the fun of science. Maybe someday you could help solve this mystery!

Oxyphil cell quiz