athymic
- adjective
- /əˈθaɪmɪk/
- Specialized
:
atímico
- Researchers often use athymic mice in experiments because they do not reject transplanted tissues.
Examples
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The athymic patient struggled to fight off infections.
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An athymic condition can make an organism more susceptible to infections.
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The laboratory bred athymic animals to study immune system disorders.
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Many athymic individuals require special medical care.
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Researchers often use athymic mice in experiments because these mice lack a thymus and show a weakened immune response.
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An athymic condition in humans can increase their risk of developing serious infections due to a compromised immune system.
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Many medical studies focus on athymic animals to understand how the absence of a thymus gland affects overall health and immunity.
Surface Forms
Morphology
athymic = thymic (semi-transparent) = a + thym + ic
If the learner knows the medical privative prefix 'a-' meaning 'without' and the adjective 'thymic', the meaning is inferable, but this is specialized scientific morphology rather than everyday English.
Etymology
Athymic The word athymic comes from the Greek parts a- 'without' and thymus 'the gland that helps the immune system'. So an athymic animal or person is one 'without a thymus', which explains why they often have a weaker immune system.
