Abstract
DESPITE considerable experimental work, the function of the thymus has not yet been clearly delineated. Although it is an organ rich in lymphoid cells, it differs from other lymphoid organs in its failure to produce significant amounts of antibody after antigenic stimulation1–3 and in its embryonic origin from the endoderm of the third pharyngeal pouch. The thymus is largest relative to body-weight during the period of immunological deficiency early in life and it becomes progressively smaller after the immune responses are fully developed4, a growth pattern which suggests its relation to the development of immunological mechanisms. The occurrence in the same patient of the two rare conditions, namely, benign thymoma and acquired agamma-globulinæmia5–7, suggested a relationship of the thymus to immunological processes. Thymectomy in adult or even in young rabbits6,8,9 had no effect on their antibody response, but subtotal thymectomy performed on young guinea pigs caused reduced antibody formation in some of the experimental groups10.
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ARCHER, O., PIERCE, J., PAPERMASTER, B. et al. Reduced Antibody Response in Thymectomized Rabbits. Nature 195, 191–193 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/195191a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/195191a0
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