does anyone else here feel that the thymus is a very strange part of the body ?

[unstructured]

It is a bizarre blob of tissue, sitting in the chest making T cells ! why isn't it in the abdomen ??

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[Mad Jack]

It all has to do with embryology. It's sort of complicated and has to do with pharyngeal pouches, evolution, etc. I'd explain more thoroughly but I'm at work right now and it's a fairly complicated subject.

 

[GummyBeh]

It is a bizarre blob of tissue, sitting in the chest making T cells ! why isn't it in the abdomen ??

Thymi are actually nicely located if you think about the organization of the lymphatic system, they also parallel the heart and its orientation in the vascular system.

 

[HybridEarth]

The thymus geeks me out for some reason. Thanks molec. genetics

 

[bluetovah]

It is a bizarre blob of tissue, sitting in the chest making T cells ! why isn't it in the abdomen ??

This thread made my day.

 

[Goro]

My immunologist colleague thinks it's a fine organ!

It is a bizarre blob of tissue, sitting in the chest making T cells ! why isn't it in the abdomen ??