The thymus: a comprehensive review - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

. 2006 Mar-Apr;26(2):335-48.

doi: 10.1148/rg.262045213.

Affiliations

• PMID: 16549602
• DOI: 10.1148/rg.262045213

Review

The thymus: a comprehensive review

Mizuki Nishino et al. Radiographics. 2006 Mar-Apr.

Erratum in

• The Thymus: A Comprehensive Review-Erratum.
  Nishino M, Ashiku SK, Kocher ON, Thurer RL, Boiselle PM, Hatabu H. Nishino M, et al. Radiographics. 2017 May-Jun;37(3):1004. doi: 10.1148/rg.2017174002. Radiographics. 2017. PMID: 28493794 No abstract available.

Abstract

Since first being described as such by Galen of Pergamum (130-200 ad), the thymus has remained an "organ of mystery" throughout the 2000-year history of medicine. The thymus reaches its maximum weight in puberty and subsequently undergoes involution, and thus is hardly an eye-catching structure on imaging studies performed in healthy adults. However, once there has been involvement of the thymus by a disease process, the gland demonstrates a variety of clinical and radiologic manifestations that require comprehensive understanding of each entity. Furthermore, it is important for radiologists to be familiar with the current World Health Organization histologic classification scheme for thymic epithelial tumors and to understand its clinical-pathologic, radiologic, and prognostic features.

(c) RSNA, 2006.

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