Human Thymus Gland in Young and Old Age; A Comparative Study
Syeda Rizwana Jafri, Uzma Waseem, Samia Shahbaz, Sadia Wazir Khan, Amna Muneeb, Amna Rehman
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ABSTRACT
Aim: Research was undertaken to compare the findings between
patients of different ages in terms of human thymus gland parameters.
Study Design: Comparative/observational study
Place and
study: This study was conducted at anatomy
department of Jinnah Hospital, Services Hospital and General Hospital Lahore
during the period from November 2013 to October 2014.
Methods: Total 70 specimens of human thymus of 54 patients were
enrolled in this study. All specimens
were divided in to two groups I and II, Group I contains 35 patients with ages
< 30 years and group II with 35 patients having ages 45 to 60 years. All
specimens were fixed in 10% formalin solution and then processed for paraffin
embedding. Compare the different parameters such as thickness of interlobular
connective tissue and thymic capsule, length and number of Hassal’s corpuscles
between both groups. Data was analyzed by SPSS 23.0.
Results: In group I mean age of the patient was 24.16±3.43 years with
mean BMI 21.55±6.37 kg/m2 and in group II mean age was
52.11±2.87years with mean BMI 25.07±4.39 kg/m2. There was a
significant difference observed between both groups regarding thickness of
interlobular connective tissue and thymic capsule, quantity and length of
Hassal’s corpuscles with p-value <0.05.
Conclusion: As a result of this study, it can be inferred that younger
patients had a substantially thinner thymic capsule and interlobular connective
tissue, as well as more and smaller Hassal's corpuscles, than older patients.
Keywords: Human Thymus Glands, Young Age, Old Age