The anatomy of the thymus gland / by Sir Astley Cooper.

  • Astley Cooper
Date:
1832
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The anatomy of the thymus gland / by Sir Astley Cooper. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    Oi\ THE Structure of the Thymus Gland in the Human Subject. This Gland is formed of a thoracic and a cervical portion on each side. The former is situated in the anterior medias- tinum, and the latter is placed in the neck just above the first bone of the sternum and behind the sterno liyoidei and sterno tliyroidei muscles. Between two and three months of foetal life, as will be seen in the plate, it is so small as to be but just perceptible. At three months its increase is in pro])ortion to the rela- tive magnitude of the foetus, and thus it continues to grow gradually and equally to the seventh month, when it enlarges out of proportion to its former growth. At eight months it is large, but at the ninth month has undergone a sudden change, becomes of great size, and is said to weigh half an ounce, from which circumstance, how- ever, on account of the cavities which it contains and the varieties to which it is subject, no judgment of its bulk can be formed. It increases after birth, and continues large to the first year, when it slowly disajipears to the time of puberty; and