The thymus constitutes the primary lymphoid organ responsible for the generation of naive T cells. Its stromal compartment is largely composed of a scaffold of different subsets of epithelial cells that provide soluble and membrane-bound molecules essential for thymocyte maturation and selection. With senescence, a steady decline in the thymic output of T cells has been observed. Numeric and qu...

New insight into the immunological function of the thymus has added to the significance of the rare primary neoplasms of this organ. It has long been known that thymomas are associated with a high incidence of certain systemic diseases, the best recognized of which are myasthenia gravis (Castleman, 1955), pure red-cell aplasia (Havard and Scott, 1960), and hypo-y-globulinaemia (Gafni, Michaeli,...

Thymic neuroendocrine neoplasms are rare tumours, but their management can often be highly problematic. While previously assumed to be essentially variants of bronchopulmonary (lung) carcinoids, they are generally more aggressive and more difficult to treat. Some 25% are associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia-1, while a higher proportion are associated with the ectopic ACTH syndrome, and ...

Background: Thymic tumors are rare entity with little information regarding outcomes after therapy with curative intent. They are heterogeneous group of neoplastic lesions with wide spectrum of morphologic appearances. They show different presentations with a variable & unpredictable evolution ranging from indolent attitude to highly infiltrative and metastasizing one. The optimal treatment inc...

Thymus is a primary lymphoid organ in fish. This gland is situated at the upper most part of the middorsolateral region of the opercular cavity, close to the base of 3 rd and 4 th gill arches. Aplocheilus panchax (Weight-2.5gm. Length-7.5cm.) a fresh water teleost belonging to the Order – Cyprinidontiformes, family – Aplocheilidae is examined under light and transmission electron microscopes (L...

The head and neck region is a frequent site for potentially confusing incidental benign findings not related to the primary pathologic process and having no impact on patient prognosis. Several lesions are thymic in origin. We report 3 cases of lymphocyte-poor thymic remnants identified in central cervical (level VI) lymph node dissections for unrelated benign and malignant pathology. In each, ...

The thymic microenvironment involves complex cell interactions among different types of epithelial cells, macrophages, tissue histiocytes, and immature and maturing T cells. We describe the isolation of a subset of thymic epithelial cells by selective primary culture followed by cotransfection with a simian virus 40 replication-origin-defective mutant and pSV2neo plasmid. The cloned cells have ...