Varga Ivan, Toth Frantisek, Uhrinova Alexandra, Nescakova Eva, Polak Stefan
Department of Histology and Embryology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2009 Sep;153(3):229-34. doi: 10.5507/bp.2009.040.
Thymus is the central lymphatic organ in humans with important endocrine function that is involved in maturation of immunocompetent T-lymphocytes. In our study we investigated the relationship among thymus size and the anthropometric dimensions as well as between thymus size and the number of lymphocytes in peripheral blood in full-term newborns.
The examined group consisted of 212 full-term newborns from the region of Southern Slovakia. We examined birth weight, birth body length, head circumference and chest circumference. Thymus size was estimated by ultrasonography and it was expressed as Thymic Index. The number of lymphocytes in peripheral blood was determined from the number of total leukocytes and from the leukogram.
We have found a statistically significant positive correlation among thymus size and the body dimensions of newborns. The highest correlation with thymus size was found for birth weight (r = 0.409; P < 0.001) followed by birth body length (r = 0.368; P < 0.001), head circumference (r = 0.365; P < 0.001) and chest circumference (r = 0.340; P < 0.001). We have proven also a statistically significant positive correlation between the number of lymphocytes in peripheral blood and thymus size (r = 0.208; P = 0.039).
Our results confirmed the findings of other authors about a close relationship of Thymic Index and basic body parameters in newborns.
胸腺是人体的中枢淋巴器官，具有重要的内分泌功能，参与免疫活性T淋巴细胞的成熟过程。在我们的研究中，我们调查了足月儿胸腺大小与人体测量维度之间的关系，以及胸腺大小与外周血淋巴细胞数量之间的关系。
研究组由来自斯洛伐克南部地区的212名足月儿组成。我们测量了出生体重、出生身长、头围和胸围。通过超声检查估计胸腺大小，并以胸腺指数表示。外周血淋巴细胞数量由白细胞总数和白细胞分类计数确定。
我们发现胸腺大小与新生儿身体尺寸之间存在统计学上显著的正相关。与胸腺大小相关性最高的是出生体重（r = 0.409；P < 0.001），其次是出生身长（r = 0.368；P < 0.001）、头围（r = 0.365；P < 0.001）和胸围（r = 0.340；P < 0.001）。我们还证明了外周血淋巴细胞数量与胸腺大小之间存在统计学上显著的正相关（r = 0.208；P = 0.039）。
我们的结果证实了其他作者关于新生儿胸腺指数与基本身体参数密切关系的研究结果。
