Albaqami Maryam, Almonifi Abdulaziz, Albelali Areej
Departement of Pediatrics, King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ann Thorac Med. 2025 Jan-Mar;20(1):71-73. doi: 10.4103/atm.atm_91_24. Epub 2025 Jan 11.
The pathogenesis of cervical extension of the thymus has been postulated to be incomplete descent of the thymus in the midline of the neck, which is considered normal in children. The thymus normally extends to the neck in approximately two-thirds of children. Ectopic thymus mainly occurs in 1%-13% of the younger population. In this study, we report two cases of asymptomatic neck swelling, one due to cervical extension of the thymus and the other due to a right submandibular ectopic thymus. None of the patients required any intervention. Recurrent suprasternal swelling in children that becomes more pronounced during coughing/crying or Valsalva maneuvers can be more accurately diagnosed using neck ultrasonography and/or magnetic resonance imaging.
胸腺向颈部延伸的发病机制被认为是胸腺在颈部中线下降不完全，这在儿童中被视为正常情况。正常情况下，约三分之二的儿童胸腺会延伸至颈部。异位胸腺主要发生在1% - 13%的年轻人群中。在本研究中，我们报告了两例无症状颈部肿胀病例，一例是由于胸腺向颈部延伸，另一例是由于右侧颌下异位胸腺。两名患者均无需任何干预。对于儿童反复出现的胸骨上窝肿胀，在咳嗽/哭闹或瓦尔萨尔瓦动作时更为明显，使用颈部超声和/或磁共振成像可以更准确地进行诊断。
