The mystery of the thymus gland
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Liu, Daniel
Ellis, Harold
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The thymus is the last organ in the human body to have its mechanisms fully understood, having had its function fully delineated more than 50 years ago (Miller 2004, Tissue Antigens 63:509–517). Prior to this, the thymus gland has had an interesting history with theories having included a role in fetal growth and development before becoming more sinisterly, a cause of sudden infant death in the late 19th century known as status lymphaticus (Paltauf 1889, Wien Klin Wochenschr 2:877–881). Until Miller (1961, Lancet 278:748–749) eventually proved its primarily immunological role, the history of this mysterious gland has closely mirrored the history of medicine itself, troubling the minds of pathologists such as Virchow (1872, Ueber die Chlorose und die damit zusammenhängenden Anomalien im Gefässapparate, insbesondere über “Endocarditis puerperalis,” vorgetragen in der Sitzung der Berliner Geburtshülflichen Gesellschaft vom 12) and Grawitz (1888, Deut Med Wochenschr 22:429–431), surgeons such as Astley Cooper (1832, The Anatomy of the Thymus Gland) and Keynes (1953, Ann R Coll Surg 12:88), and eminent medical epidemiologists such as Greenwood and Woods [1927, J Hyg (Lond) 26:305–326]. This article will hopefully be of interest therefore to both clinician and historian alike. Clin. Anat. 29:679–684, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Date Issued
2016-09
Date Acceptance
2016-03-30
Citation
Clinical Anatomy, 2016, 29 (6), pp.679-684
ISSN
0897-3806
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
679
End Page
684
Journal / Book Title
Clinical Anatomy
Volume
29
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Liu, D. and Ellis, H. (2016), The mystery of the thymus gland. Clin. Anat., 29: 679-684, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/ca.22724. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Identifier
https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000380947700002&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=a2bf6146997ec60c407a63945d4e92bb
Subjects
Anatomy & Morphology
Astley Cooper
Felix Plater
history of medicine
INFANCY
Jacques Miller
John Simon
Kopp's asthma
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
RISK
Science & Technology
status lymphaticus
STATUS LYMPHATICUS
thymus gland
TUMORS
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2016-04-02