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Thymic Tumors

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Airway diseases

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Abstract

The thymus gland is a lymphoepithelial organ located in the anterosuperior mediastinum. It develops from the third pharyngeal cleft in the sixth week of pregnancy, and the development continues until the ninth week. The thymus plays a role in the maturation of the T cell. It is an endocrine gland. It takes part in the regulation of the immune system starting from the fetal period. Its approximate weight is 10–15 g during the neonatal period, and it reaches 30–40 g in puberty. Blood is supplied by the internal thoracic artery and the inferior thyroid artery. Venous return is provided by the thymic veins draining into the brachiocephalic vein, internal thoracic vein, and the inferior thyroid vein (Fig. 1). It receives sympathetic fibers from the cervicothoracic ganglion and the subclavian loop and parasympathetic fibers from the vagus nerve. The fibers of the phrenic nerve supply sensation from the capsule of the gland [1].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chest Surgery Department, Medical Faculty, Ankara City Hospital, Health Science University, Ankara, Turkey

    Kubilay İnan & Nurettin Karaoğlanoğlu

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  1. Kubilay İnan
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  2. Nurettin Karaoğlanoğlu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Türkiye

    Cemal Cingi

  2. Department of Pulmonology, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye

    Arzu Yorgancıoğlu

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye

    Nuray Bayar Muluk

  4. Federal University of Bahia School of Medicine and ProAR Foundation, Salvador - Bahia, Brazil

    Alvaro A. Cruz

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Chest Disease, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Muzaffer Metintaş MD

  2. Department of Chest Disease, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey

    Guntulu Ak

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İnan, K., Karaoğlanoğlu, N. (2023). Thymic Tumors. In: Cingi, C., Yorgancıoğlu, A., Bayar Muluk, N., Cruz, A.A. (eds) Airway diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22483-6_81-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22483-6_81-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-22482-9

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