Abstract
The effects of thyroidectomy, gonadectomy, and adrenalectomy on the weight and structure of the thymus were examined in 118 White Leghorn cockerels, 51 to 269 days of age. The results obtained are summarized as follows.1 The thymus degenerated markedly after thyroidectomy or adrenalectomy, but was hypertrophied slightly after castration before sexual maturity.2 The degeneration of the thymus after thyroidectomy was quite specific and intense, and its weight decreased to 1/2-1/4 of that of intact normal controls, regardless of the time of thyroidectomy. Therefore, it is considered that the thyroid gland is an indispensable organ for the maintenance of the thymus function.3 The degeneration of the thymus after thyroidectomy began with the destruction and flowingout of thymocytes. Aggregation and destruction of the reticular cells followed and then reticulation of parenchymatous tissue occurred by the invasion of connective tissue and increase of myoid cells. As a result, the parenchymal cells (thymocytes and reticular cells) decreased markedly in number and the parenchymatous tissue of the thymus was replaced by reticular tissue.4 In the degeneration of the thymus, foamy cells in the peripheral portion of the cortex, and HASSALL's corpuscles and myoid cells in the medulla increased in the incipient stage after thyroidectomy, but in a later stage they decreased again.
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