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Contemporary Topics in Immunobiology pp 351–361Cite as

Some Clinical Implications of Thymus-Dependent Functions

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Part of the book series: Contemporary Topics in Immunobiology ((CTI,volume 2))

Abstract

Clinical attitudes toward the thymus have become rational only recently. In the 1930s, some children had thymic irradiation or even thymectomy for the apocryphal “status lymphaticus.” Since they were not definitely ill, such treatment could not be expected to do good, but it did throw some light on human thymus-related function since if patients survived the operation they apparently suffered little harm. The thymus is sometimes a nuisance to thoracic surgeons, who occasionally remove at least part of it to get at the heart, and some surgically removed “mediastinal tumors” turn out to be large but histologically normal thymuses. The patients suffer no obvious ill effects. Although thymic tumors were recognized and removed, the thymus remained a functional mystery until thymectomy for thymoma was noted to be followed by improvement of associated myasthenia gravis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunlolgy, Institute of Child Health, London, England

    A. R. Hayward & J. F. Soothill

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  1. A. R. Hayward
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  2. J. F. Soothill
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Cancer Hospital, Chester Beatty Research Institute, London, England

    A. J. S. Davies  & R. L. Carter  & 

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© 1973 Plenum Press, New York

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Hayward, A.R., Soothill, J.F. (1973). Some Clinical Implications of Thymus-Dependent Functions. In: Davies, A.J.S., Carter, R.L. (eds) Contemporary Topics in Immunobiology. Contemporary Topics in Immunobiology, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0919-2_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0919-2_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-0921-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-0919-2

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