thymus

[thahy-muh s] /ˈθaɪ məs/

noun, plural thymuses, thymi

[thahy-mahy] /ˈθaɪ maɪ/ (Show IPA). Anatomy

a ductless, butterfly-shaped gland lying at the base of the neck, formed mostly of lymphatic tissue and aiding in the production of T cells of the immune system: after puberty, the lymphatic tissue gradually degenerates.

Also called thymus gland.

Origin

1685-95; < Neo-Latin < Greek thýmos warty excrescence, thymus

Examples from the web for thymus

Additional portions of thymus tissue are sometimes developed from the fourth branchial pouches.
thymus continues to grow until the time of puberty and then begins to atrophy.
Lymphatics have been described in the thyroid gland and in the thymus.

British Dictionary definitions for thymus

thymus

/ˈθaɪməs/

noun (pl) -muses, -mi (-maɪ)

a glandular organ of vertebrates, consisting in man of two lobes situated below the thyroid. In early life it produces lymphocytes and is thought to influence certain immunological responses. It atrophies with age and is almost nonexistent in the adult

Word Origin

C17: from New Latin, from Greek thumos sweetbread

Word Origin and History for thymus

gland near the base of the neck, 1690s, Modern Latin, from Greek thymos "a warty excrescence," used of the gland by Galen, literally "thyme," probably so called because of a fancied resemblance to a bunch of thyme (see thyme).

thymus in Medicine

thymus thy·mus (thī'məs)
n. pl. thy·mus·es

A lymphoid organ that is located in the superior mediastinum and lower part of the neck and is necessary in early life for the normal development of immunological function.
The thymus of a calf or lamb.

thymus in Science

thymus

(thī'məs)
An organ of the lymphatic system located behind the upper sternum (breastbone). T cells (T lymphocytes) develop and mature in the thymus before entering the circulation. In humans, the thymus stops growing in early childhood and gradually shrinks in size through adulthood, resulting in a gradual decline in immune system function.