Abstract
The thymus is a lymphatic organ situated in the thorax, known since the 1st century AD. The officinal plant of the same name had been known for several centuries, since the time of the ancient Egyptians who, as it seems, appreciated its therapeutical properties. The name of the gland seems to come from the thyme plant, possibly due to the resemblance — fairly vague, to tell the truth — of the lobes of the gland to the plant leaves (Fig. 1.1).
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
- Thymus Gland
- Severe Combine Immunodeficiency Disease
- Microscopic Anatomy
- Lymphatic Organ
- Malignant Thymoma
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
References
Jacobs MT, Frush DP, Donnelly LF (1999) The right place at the wrong time: Historical perspective of the relation of the thymus gland and pediatric radiology. Radiology 210:11–16
Miller JFAP (2002) The discovery of thymus function and of thymus-derived lymphocytes. Immunol Rev 185:7–14
Kirschner PA (2000) The history of surgery of the thymus gland. Chest Surg Clin N Am 10:153–165
Mazzini I (2001) Rufo di Efeso. Denominazioni delle parti del corpo. Medicina&Storia 2:81–112
Penso G (1985) La medicina romana. Ciba-Geigy Edizioni, Roma, p 207
Galen (1998) On the usefulness of the parts of the body. May MT (ed), Cornell University Press Ithaca, New York, pp 283–286
Singer CS (1956) Galen on anatomical procedures. Oxford University Press, London, p 250
De Santo NG, Bisaccia C, De Santo LS et al (1999) Berengario da Carpi. Am J Nephrol 19:199–212
Jacopo Berengario da Carpi (1521) Commentaria super Anatomia Mundini. Bologna
Jacopo Berengario da Carpi (1535) Isagogae breves perlucidae ac uberrime in anatomiam humani corporis. Venezia
Crotti A (1922) The thymus gland. In: Crotti A (ed) Thyroid and thymus. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, pp 607–693
Vesalius A (1950) De humani corporis fabrica. In: Sanders JB, O’Malley CD (eds) Illustrations from the works of Andrea Vesalius of Brussels, book 6. The World Publishing Co., Cleveland and New York
Paré Ambroise (1585) Les oeuvres d’Ambroise Paré, Conseiller et Premier Chirurgien du Roy, divisées in 28 livres avec les figures et portraicts, tant de l’anatomie que des instruments de chirurgie, et de plusieurs monsters, revues et augmenteés par l’autheur. Gabriel Buon, Paris
Plater F (1925) In: Ruräh J (ed) Pediatrics of the past. Paul B Hoeber Inc, New York, pp 237–239
Hewson W (1777) Experimental enquires III. In: Cadell T (ed) Experimental enquires into the properties of the blood. Longman, London, pp 1–223
Gulliver G (1846) The works of William Hewson. Sydenham Society, London
Doyle D (2006) William Hewson (1739–1974): The father of haematology. Br J Haematol 133:375–381
Cooper AP (1833) The anatomy of the thymus gland. Longmand, Rees, Orme, Green & Brown, London, pp 1–48
Simon J (1845) An essay on the physiology of the thymus gland. Renshaw, London
Hassall AH, Vanarsdale H (1846) Illustrations of the microscopic anatomy of the human body in health and disease. In: Hassall AH (ed) Microscopic anatomy of the human body in health and disease. Wood, London, pp 1–79
Watanabe N, Wang YH, Lee HK et al (2005) Hassall corpuscles instruct dendritic cells to induce CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in human thymus. Nature 436:1181–1185
Kopp JK (1830) Denkwürdigkeiten in der ärztlichen praxis. Hermann, Frankfurt
Debré R, Lelong M (1963) Pediatria. Intermedical S.a.r.l., Roma, p 431
Paltauf A (1889) ùber die beziehung der thymus zum plötzlichen tod. Wien Klin Wochenschr 3:877–881
Paltauf A (1890) Über plötzlichen tod. Wien Klin Wochenschr 3:172–175
Rehn L (1906) Compression from the thymus gland and resultant death. Ann Surg 44:760–768
Musser JH, Kelly AOJ (eds) (1912) A handbook of practical treatment. Saunders, Philadelphia, p 215
Gofman JW (1996) Preventing breast cancer, 2nd edn. Committee on nuclear responsibility, San Francisco
Friedländer A (1907) Status lymphaticus and enlargement of the thymus; with report of a case successfully treated by the X-ray. Arch Pediatr 24:490–501
Leonidas JC (1998) The thymus: From past misconception to present recognition. Pediatr Radiol 28:275–282
Moncrieff A (1937) Enlargement of the thymus in infants with special reference to clinical evidence of so-called status thymo-lymphaticus. Proc R Soc Med 31:537–544
Oestreich AE, William H (1995) Crane of Cincinnati and the first irradiation of the pediatric thymus, 1905. AJR 165:1064–1065
Caffey J (1945) The mediastinum. In: Caffey J (ed) Pediatric X-ray diagnosis. Year Book, Chicago, pp 344–345
Oppenheim H (1899) Weiterer Beitrag zur Lehre von den Acuten Nicht-Eitrigen Encephalitis und der Polioencephalomyelitis. Deutsche Zeitschr Nervenheil Kande 15:1–27
Beard J (1900) The source of leucocytes and the true function of the thymus. Anat Anz 18:550–560
Hughes T (2005) The early history of myasthenia gravis. Neuromuscul Disord 15:878–886
Kattach H, Anastasiadis K, Cleuziou G et al (2006) Transsternal thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: Surgical outcome. Ann Thorac Surg 81:305–308
Kirschner PA (1987) Alfred Blalock and thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. Ann Thorac Surg 43:348–349
Gracey DR, Divertie MB, Howard FM Jr et al (1984) Postoperative respiratory care after transsternal thymectomy in myasthenia gravis. A 3-year experience in 53 patients. Chest 86:67–71
Landreneau RJ, Dowling RD, Castillo WM (1992) Thoracoscopic resection of an anterior mediastinal tumor. Ann Thorac Surg 54:142
Sugarbaker DJ (1993) Thoracoscopy in the management of anterior mediastinal masses. Ann Thorac Surg 56:653–656
Yoshino I, Hashizume M, Shimada M et al (2001) Thoracoscopic thymomectomy with the Da Vinci computerenhanced surgical system. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 122:783–785
August CS, Rosen FS, Filler RM et al (1968) Implantation of a foetal thymus restoring immunological competence in a patient with thymic aplasia (DiGeorge’s) Lancet 2:1210
Cleveland WW, Fogel BJ, Brown WT et al (1968) Foetal thymic transplant in a case of DiGeorge’s syndrome. Lancet 2:1211
Hong R, Santosham M, Schulte-Wissermann H et al (1976) Reconstitution of B and T lymphocyte function in severe combined immunodeficiency disease after transplantation with thymic epithelium. Lancet 2:1270
Hadden JW (1998) Thymic endocrinology. Ann N Y Acad Sci 840:352–358
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Italia
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lavini, C. (2008). The Thymus from Antiquity to the Present Day: the History of a Mysterious Gland. In: Lavini, C., Moran, C.A., Morandi, U., Schoenhuber, R. (eds) Thymus Gland Pathology. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0828-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0828-1_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Milano
Print ISBN: 978-88-470-0827-4
Online ISBN: 978-88-470-0828-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)