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The Thymus Gland
Courtney Wilkins & Emmy Coffey
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What is it?
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Main organ of lymphatic system
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Assist in growth and sexual development
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Made of lymphoid tissue consisting of tightly packed white
blood cells and fat.
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2 lobes
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Each lobule has inner region called the medulla and outer region
called the cortex
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Cortex contains immature T-lymphocytes, not yet ready to
distinguish body cells and foreign cells
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Medulla contains mature cells
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Where is it?
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Located immediately beneath the breast bone at the level of
the heart
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Made up of two lobes in front of the trachea
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Hormones this gland produces
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Thymosin-causes T lymphocytes to mature and grow,
increases immune responses, stimulates pituitary gland
hormones
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3 thymosins: alpha, beta, gamma
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Thympoeitin & thymulin makes it possible to distinguish Tlymphocytes and enhances T-cell function
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thymic humoral factor (THF) increases immune responses
particularly to viruses
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Affect on human body
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Transform lymphocytes (white blood cells that were made in
the bone marrow) into T cells. T cells are sent off to different
lymph glands, where they fight infections and disease
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Mainly affects newborns/children
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Thymus gland begins as size of apple and begins to decrease in
size once puberty hits
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Maintaining Homeostasis
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Thymus gland is necessary to fight infections. Without it, as a
child you’d have immune deficiency.
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Scientists are trying to determine if your thymus gland
doesn’t shrink, would the human body fight HIV/AIDS, cancer
etc. better.
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Most of immune development occurs before birth, so
removing the thymus gland, due to complications, may not
cause problems for them.
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Feedback mechanisms and
antagonistic hormones
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Thymus is part of the immune system so it does not have
many feedback mechanisms.
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There are no antagonistic hormones.
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Hormones that act to return body conditions to within
acceptable limits from opposite extremes are called
antagonistic hormones.
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What happens if the gland doesn’t
function properly? How do you
treat the problem?
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You can have immune deficiency.
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Dr Jacques Miller discovered that the thymus gland is very
important for the defense against infections and disease.
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Removed the thymus glands from newborn mice and found that
they were more susceptible to infection/disease and in most
cases died.
A couple ways to help treat a malfunctioning thymus are to
get a transplant, have immune cell infusions, or simply treat
the infections you get with prescribed antibiotics.
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http://www.ask.com/question/what-hormone-does-thethymus-gland-produce
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http://www.innerbody.com/image_endoov/lymp04new.html#full-description
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http://biology.about.com/od/anatomy/ss/thymus.htm
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http://www.wehi.edu.au/about_us/achievements/professor_j
acques_miller/