Distribution of thymic tissue in the mediastinal adipose tissue

• Published in: The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery Vol. 101; no. 6; pp. 1099 - 1102
• Main Authors: Fukai, I, Funato, Y, Mizuno, T, Hashimoto, T, Masaoka, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA AATS/WTSA 01.06.1991; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Choristoma - pathology; Diseases of striated muscles. Neuromuscular diseases; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Keratins - metabolism; Male; Mediastinal Neoplasms - metabolism; Mediastinal Neoplasms - pathology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neurology; Thymus Gland - pathology; Immunopathology; Striated muscle disease; Nervous system diseases; Myasthenia gravis; Thymectomy; Thymus gland; Surgery; Autoimmune disease; Ectopia; Anterior mediastinum; Failure
• ISSN: 0022-5223; 1097-685X
• DOI: 10.1016/s0022-5223(19)36630-9

The distribution of thymic tissue in the anterior mediastinal, retrocarinal, and preaortic fat was examined histologically in 27 autopsy subjects. Thymic tissue was found in the anterior mediastinal fat in 12 subjects (44.4%), in the retrocarinal fat in two (7.4%), and in the preaortic fat in none. The finding of ectopic thymic tissue in these areas has not been reported previously, would appear to be surgically inaccessible via a median sternotomy, and may be responsible in part for some of the failures of thymectomy in the treatment of myasthenia gravis.