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Lobe of thymus: anatomy, location and function

The thymus lobes are the two lobes of the thymus gland, where T lymphocytes mature. It matures T cells and is most active in childhood.

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Highlighted in the model: Lobe of thymus. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Lobe of thymus at a glance

What it is
The thymus lobes are the two lobes of the thymus gland, where T lymphocytes mature.
Location
The thymus lies in the superior and anterior mediastinum behind the sternum, in front of the great vessels.
Function
It matures T cells and is most active in childhood.
Body system
Endocrine · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA71195 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It involutes after puberty and is largely replaced by fat.
  • Each lobe has a cortex and medulla; Hassall corpuscles lie in the medulla.

Clinical relevance

Thymoma is associated with myasthenia gravis.

Structures next to the lobe of thymus

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Lobe of thymus (FMA71195). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §17.1 An Overview of the Endocrine System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

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