A 40-Year-Old Woman Presented to the Office Complaining of a Neck

A 40-year-old woman presented to the office complaining of a neck mass. The mass was first noticed 5 months ago during showering. The mass grew in size since that time. It is not associated with pain, weight loss, swallowing difficulty, or breathing difficulty. On examination, the patient has the right thyroid lobe mass. There is no lymphadenopathy. Fine-needle aspiration shows follicular tumor. The patient is sent for thyroidectomy. During the procedure, the surgeon is trying to ligate the inferior thyroid artery, which of the following structures is at risk for injury?

A) The accessory nerve
B) The Hypoglossal Nerve
C) The phrenic nerve
D) The recurrent laryngeal nerve
E) The superior laryngeal nerve