thymus gland
1
4.4
- noun
- /ˈθaɪməs ɡlænd/
- Specialized
:
glándula del timo
- During childhood, the thymus gland produces lymphocytes essential for a strong immune response.
Examples
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It turns out that in the thymus gland that that a part of the thymus actually expresses all kinds of proteins that are found in the rest of the body.
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This is most likely associated with the finding that the thymus gland reaches its largest relative size by age four and its largest absolute size by puberty, at which time it begins to involute and is replaced by fibrofatty tissue.
Academic text (1996) -
This would explain the various locations of thymic anomalies, which can be found anywhere along the embryologic course of the thymus gland's descent.
Academic text (2010) -
This immune clock resides within the thymus gland, whose size is largest during the teenage years and involutes to the point where it is barely detectable after age 50.
Academic text (1992) -
Did humans not have appendices, thymus glands, Peyer's patches, spleens, tonsils, and adenoids?
Blog text (14) -
Vitamin A is necessary for the health of the thymus gland as it plays a crucial role in immune function.
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The thymus gland is vital in developing the body's immune system, especially in children.
Synonyms
5
7.3
A small organ at the base of the neck that helps the immune system grow during childhood
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is fully compositional: 'thymus' names a specific body part and 'gland' names the category of organ, so 'thymus gland' simply denotes the gland called the thymus. A B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can readily infer the full MWE meaning; this taxonomic pattern is cross-linguistically transparent.
Etymology
Thymus gland The name thymus comes from an old Greek word because early doctors thought the small organ looked like the herb 'thyme' and the same word was also used for 'spirit'. So the name stuck to the small gland that helps build a child's 'immune system'.