Talk:Thymus/Archive 1

2nd Picture
The description of the second picture makes no sense. The description refers to several things (the thymus of a calf and then a camel, etc) while the image is obviously only one thing. Alex.tan 16:07, 17 May 2004 (UTC)


 * Presumably, because both are herbivorous mammals, the structure of these cells are similar enough to be interchangeable for the purposes of illustration. The likelihood is that these cells are not identical between the calf and the camel, but this is common practice in biology texts. At any rate they're only sketches, not photographs. Clarknova 18:12, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Add some new info
Just wanted to remind that info about different types of epithelioreticular cells can be added (e.g. because of the article about T cells), also there should be something wtitten about thymocytes. Sorry for not doing this myself, but really don't have time. --Eleassar777 08:30, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Size and position
Since the thymus gradually shrinks, how can it be said to be 5 cm x 4 cm x 6 mm? At what age is this? Also, it is difficult to understand how something can be 5 cm long, and yet stretch from the neck to the top of the heart. Is this possibly the description of the position of a thymus in a newborn? / Habj 04:44, 5 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, I believe the description in the Anatomy section describes fetuses, but an expert needs to have a look at this. AxelBoldt 03:50, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Full-time fetus
An illustration is labelled "The thymus of a full-time fetus". Shouldn't that be "full-term"? It sounds like we're distinguishing the subject from somebody who just moonlights as a fetus.


 * Fixedz0r. --FOo 04:50, 18 January 2006 (UTC)


 * That made me chuckle. :D

The thymus is not a gland
Just changed the thymus from "gland" to organ. The original classification as a gland was a mistake.

Attempted rewrite
I tried to rewrite this article, increasing the amount of information on the history of discovery, the maturation of thymocytes and the mechanism of atrophy. Sad mouse 21:07, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

what hormones?
what hormones does it produce? and if so, how can it not be an endocrine gland if it secretes hormones?Brallan 15:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Blood-Thymus barrier?
Just wondering if someone might want to add some specifics about the blood-thymus barrier? I would, but... it's what I was looking for :)

Thanks Queendra (talk) 05:54, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Useful source
gives a nice overview on everything thymic. JFW | T@lk  20:13, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

nonexistent link fix
Should the nonexistent link for "granular cells" go here, maybe Large granular lymphocyte Could s.o. check and fix it if that is so? Lisa4edit (talk) 03:18, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

In Cuisine
Apparently the Thymus is used is some Mexican celebratory dishes. I don't have an online ref and don't feel like writing out the one from the book I'm reading. Ol Yeller '''Talktome 14:43, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Blood-Thymus barrier
Here is a definition of the blood-thymus barrier, but it is unreferenced and may be a copyvio:
 * The blood-thymus barrier forms antigen free "classrooms" for expanding and differentiating T cell progenitors. The "classrooms" are defined by spot desmosomes between the epithelial reticular cells and the tight junctions between the endothelial capillaries in the thymic cortex. This forms the blood-thymus barrier.

This is from a brief article Blood-thymus barrier which may have been speedy-deleted by the time you see this message. -- Eastmain (talk) 17:43, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

Answers from the Reference desk
Under the heading "Is the thymus an endocrine gland?" I asked as follows and received the following answers. FYI.

Our article Thymus says "It is largely degenerated in elderly adults and is barely identifiable, consisting mostly of fatty tissue, but it continues to function as an endocrine gland..." The caption of the top illustration in Endocrine system declares "Note: the Thymus (labelled 4.) is not an endocrine gland." A definitive answer to the question in the header would be appreciated. Thank you. --Hordaland (talk) 11:49, 29 October 2010 (UTC)
 * My impression is that the question can't be answered definitively. It has endocrine activity (it produces thymulin for example), but its most important role is to generate certain types of immune system cells. Looie496 (talk) 17:53, 29 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Oh, dear, oh, dear. I can change the sentence in thymus to read something about endocrine activity.  But is the note on the illustration correct -- that the thymus "is not an endocrine gland"?  That looks dumb and the thymus should be removed from the that illustration, I'd think.  What do you think?   Hordaland (talk) 18:34, 29 October 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree with Looie496, and would add that it appears undue weight is given to thymosins in the lede paragraph of the Thymus article. Secondary sources consistently describe the thymus as a primary lymphoid organ, whereas discussion of its endocrine function are mostly in primary sources.  In addition, thymectomy is generally well-tolerated by human adults, with the only prominent phenotype having to do with reduced T cell function.  -- Scray (talk) 18:51, 29 October 2010 (UTC)


 * There seems to be a fair amount of discussion of thymic endocrine function, including thymulin, thymosin alpha1, thymosin beta4, and thymopoietin, and other more general cytokines (see ). (thymosins can also be produced elsewhere - if cupping has any beneficial effect, I bet they are involved...)  The problem is that endocrine organs are a pedagogic construct - probably every cell in the body secretes signalling molecules that have some general effect on the body; it's just that some glands do this disproportionately.  It does seem more common to say that the thymus has endocrine function rather than that it is an endocrine gland, and perhaps it's best addressed in this way. Wnt (talk) 19:03, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

Thanks so much to you all! I am not competent to fix the lede nor to understand much of the rest. But I've changed wording in Thymus to "endocrine function". And in the caption to the top illustration in Endocrine system, I've changed the wording to "[Note: the Thymus (labelled 4.) has endocrine function, though it is not considered to be an endocrine gland.]. Hope it is OK to copy this entire section to the talk page.  Hordaland (talk) 19:59, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

Adding the Superscript plus sign
Unicode, U+207A, or Superscript Plus Sign, Decimal 8314, HEX 207A, &#207A; comes out as "⁺" when copied from Windows Character Map. It is a non standard HTML code. http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/superscripts_and_subscripts.html The CD4+ works. HTML code: is slected base symbol with a < left carrot and the abbreviation "sup" with a > right carrot and the symbol to be superscripted followed by a < left carrot / a foward slash and the abbreviation sup and closed with a > right slash. Note: there are NO SPACES between any of the commands. Here is the reference: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/bylanguage/mathchart.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bgordski (talk • contribs) 01:05, 27 May 2011 (UTC)
 * I think you're trying to say CD4+ :) --Nbauman (talk) 02:51, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Reference No. 6 "www.thymusfunctions.com" rerouting to wordpress.
Reference No. 6 "www.thymusfunctions.com" goes to a wordpress blog page with no information. Can someone please fix or delete? Thx Nanmwls (talk) 21:46, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

Calling For Real Pictures of Thymus and Surrounding structures
They are completely missing from the current article. They help a lot in understanding the surrounding muscles, vessels and nerves. It would be also useful to have thyroid glands and thymus in the same picture.

I will add them here but it takes some time when I get some preparations to my hand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SaminTietokirja (talk • contribs) 16:39, 16 June 2012 (UTC)