Thymus - Ox

THYMUS - OX

  • The thymus is a lymphoid organ and is well developed only in the last stages of fetal life and a few months after birth
  • After birth it undergoes atrophy. In the calf it is pale in colour, distinctly lobulated and consists of thoracic and cervical parts
  • The thoracic part occupies the greater part of the cranial mediastinal space upto the pericardium
  • Its left face is in contact with the chest wall and the left lung
  • Its right face is molded on the great vessels in front of the heart
  • The cervical part forms the bulk of the gland and consists of right and left lobes, which extend the ventro-lateral aspects of the trachea from the thoracic inlet to the thyroid gland
  • It weighs about 435 to 600 gm. at five or six weeks of age
Last modified: Saturday, 17 July 2010, 5:26 AM