Role and significance of thymus in pathological evaluation of immunotoxicity
LIN Zhi
LI Shan-shan
ZHANG Di
LI Bo
YANG Yan-wei
Abstract：The thymus is a central lymphoid organ.T lymphocytes undergo differentiation and maturation autonomously in thymus cortex without the need for antigenic stimulation.This is essential for the normal develop-ment and function of the immune system.The thymus has been shown to be a sensitive target organ following expo-sure to immunotoxicants and endogenous eorticosteroids.A decrease in size or weight of thymus is often one of the first noted measures of test chemical.induced effects.The cortical thymic lymphocytes are especially susceptible.Therefore,changes in thymus histopathology and weight are considered to be of particular relevance for immunotox-icity screening,and the pathological evaluation of thymus plays an important role in immunotoxicity study.
Keywords：immunotoxicitypathologythymus
Publication Date：2009-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-14(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 2309-2312 )