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Herschel S. Zackheim, MD

JAMA. 1968;204(5):393.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Some 20 years or so ago it was not uncommon to hear lectures in medical school concerning the so-called thymicolymphatic constitution, a condition which was thought to be the cause of sudden illness or death particularly in children. This concept fell into disrepute, and for a long time thereafter there was little interest in the thymus, which was regarded as a lymphoid structure of doubtful significance, known to involute in man after adolescence.

In recent years, however, there has been a renewed interest in this organ, stimulated to a large degree by a growing number of case reports associating various disease states with thymic abnormalities.

Current concepts concerning the function of the thymus,¹ based to a large degree on work with laboratory animals, include the following: The thymus appears to be a key organ in the development and function of the lymphoid system and, therefore, in the immunological competence . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Palo Alto, Calif

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