Do you have immunity? Thank your thymus gland.

The thymus gland is crucial for a healthy immune system that can fend off sickness.

Congratulations if you pointed to the front of your upper chest! The thymus gland is located slightly behind the upper section of the breastbone, between the lungs' tops, and in front of and above the heart. The thymus gland is 2.5 inches long and weighs 1 ounce in newborns, but it diminishes over time beginning in the first year of life.

Don't feel bad if you pointed elsewhere or had no notion. Most individuals are unfamiliar with the thymus and its location. And with good reason: the thymus gland is a tiny gland that has been entirely replaced by fat in most adults. But it wasn't always like this.

What role does the thymus gland play in the immune system?
The thymus gland is crucial for the developing immune system during foetal development, infancy, and early childhood. That's when the thymus gland generates T-cells, which are immune cells named after the thymus gland.

T-cells are necessary for optimal immune function since they can eliminate bacteria or viruses infected cells. They aid in immune system regulation and target tumour cells as well.

  

Is your thymus gland truly necessary?
Whether you are an adult, a young child, or a developing foetus will determine how you respond to this question. It's very important for the developing child and foetus, as mentioned above.

However, the function of the thymus gland in adulthood has been unclear. One explanation for this is that, with time, it shrinks to just one inch in size and weighs a mere fraction of an ounce, a mere vestige of its previous existence.

Furthermore, if the thymus gland needs to be removed as part of a medical procedure to cure an illness, such as a benign or malignant tumour, adults appear to function perfectly fine without it. Treatment for myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune condition characterised by muscle weakness, drooping eyelids, and double vision, may include medication in addition to thymectomy. The disease-causing aberrant immune cells appear to originate from the thymus gland.

Reevaluating the thymus gland's significance in adulthood
An increasing body of research indicates that the thymus gland may have a longer-lasting effect on adult immune system function and general health than previously believed. For instance:

Even as adults, the thymus gland still produces T-cells, albeit more slowly. Newer scanning equipment also indicates that the organ may have shrunk less than previously stated.

 
The thymus gland may aid adults in fending off diseases like COVID-19 and HIV, despite the organ's effectiveness gradually declining with age.

 
According to a 2023 study, compared to patients who underwent other forms of surgery, adults who had their thymus removed had greater rates of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and death. This and other studies indicate that we could have underestimated the role and significance of this gland in adults.

In summary
The majority of individuals are probably ignorant of the thymus gland's significant contributions to immunological response and general health, even if there is still much we don't know about it.

Future studies could alter our understanding of this gland's significance, particularly in relation to older people. However, I believe the thymus gland should be given more attention and awareness long before that occurs. We'd be more vulnerable to infections as children and would live shorter lives without the thymus gland. This remarkable gland has already contributed to the development of a healthy immune system that shields us from health risks we encounter throughout our lives, even before we are mature enough to recognise them.

What a tiny, shrinking gland can accomplish for you, or has accomplished already, is just astounding.

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