Mediastinum - Ectopic thymus

Home Chapter Home Jobs Conferences Fellowships Books

Mediastinum

Thymus

Ectopic thymus

Reviewer: Hanni Gulwani, M.D. (see Reviewers page)
Revised: 23 February 2013, last major update December 2012
Copyright: (c) 2003-2013, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

General
=========================================================================

● Remnants, implants or accessory nodules that may appear from angle of mandible to thyroid gland, most commonly at level of thyroid gland
● Rarely becomes hyperplastic or neoplastic

Epidemiology
=========================================================================

● Usually an incidental finding during thyroid surgery in preteens, very rare in adults due to thymic involution

Case reports
=========================================================================

● 12 month old boy with neck mass (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2001;125:278)
● 22 year old woman with anterior neck mass (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2001;125:842)
● With micronodular epithelial hyperplasia (Int J Surg Pathol 2006;14:73)

Xray images
=========================================================================

Homogeneous mass in submandibular space, extending toward parapharyngeal space

Micro description
=========================================================================

● Normal appearing thymic tissue

Micro images
=========================================================================

Various images

Central cervical epithelial rest

CK5/6, p63, CD10

Differential diagnosis
=========================================================================

● Other heterotopic epithelial elements, including misplaced cutaneous structures and salivary gland tissue (Am J Clin Pathol 2009;132:707)
● Ectopic cervical thymoma: "the great mimic"; considered in differential diagnosis of neck masses in elderly (Indian J Pathol Microbiol 2007;50:553)

End of Mediastinum > Thymus > Ectopic thymus

This information is intended for physicians and related personnel, who understand that medical information is often imperfect, and must be interpreted in the context of a patient's clinical data using reasonable medical judgment. This website should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a licensed physician.

All information on this website is protected by copyright of PathologyOutlines.com, Inc. Information from third parties may also be protected by copyright. Please contact us at copyrightPathOut@gmail.com with any questions (click here for other contact information).