thymus

thy·mus  (thms)

n. pl. thy·mus·es

A small glandular organ that is situated behind the top of the breastbone, consisting mainly of lymphatic tissue and serving as the site of T cell differentiation. The thymus increases gradually in size and activity until puberty, becoming vestigal thereafter.

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[New Latin, from Greek thumos, warty excrescence, thymus.]

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thymus [thigh-muss, -my]

Noun

pl -muses or -mi Anat a small gland situated near the base of the neck [Greek thumos sweetbread]

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thymus  (thms)

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.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Thymus - large genus of Old World mints: thyme genus Thymus asterid dicot genus - genus of more or less advanced dicotyledonous herbs and some trees and shrubs family Labiatae, family Lamiaceae, Labiatae, Lamiaceae, mint family - a large family of aromatic herbs and shrubs having flowers resembling the lips of a mouth and four-lobed ovaries yielding four one-seeded nutlets and including mint; thyme; sage; rosemary thyme - any of various mints of the genus Thymus
	2.	thymus - a ductless glandular organ at the base of the neck that produces lymphocytes and aids in producing immunity; atrophies with age thymus gland ductless gland, endocrine gland, endocrine - any of the glands of the endocrine system that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream immune system - a system (including the thymus and bone marrow and lymphoid tissues) that protects the body from foreign substances and pathogenic organisms by producing the immune response cervix, neck - the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body; "he admired her long graceful neck"; "the horse won by a neck"