The thymus gland is located behind the upper sternum (breast bone) and in front of the heart. It is made up primarily of fatty tissue, white blood cells (lymphocytes), and stromal (epithelial) cells.
The thymus plays an important role in the body’s immune system, producing T lymphocytes (T cells) which are vital to being able to fight infection or foreign bodies. The thymus is at its largest size and greatest activity in infancy and childhood, then shrinking (atrophying) and becoming less functional in adulthood when the gland consists mostly of fatty tissue.
Healthy lungs are pink sponge-like organs made up of tiny blood vessels (capillaries and veins) and air sacs (alveoli) which deliver oxygen to the body during breathing. A lung (pulmonary) nodule is a small oval or round growth in the lung, often referred to as a "spot on the lung" or "coin lesion" as seen on a chest-x-ray. Lung nodules may be either benign (scarring from prior infection, or a benign tumor) or malignant (a primary lung cancer arising in the lung, or a secondary focus of malignancy that has spread or metastasized to the lung from another organ).
The central portion of the chest cavity located behind the sternum (breast bone) and between the lungs and extending from the neck above to the diaphragm below is known as the mediastinum. The mediastinum contains the heart, thoracic aorta, trachea (airway), esophagus (swallowing passage), thymus gland, and lymph nodes. Mediastinal tumors, both benign and malignant (cancerous) are rare but do occur.
The chest (thoracic) cavity is a space that is enclosed by the spine, ribs and sternum (breast bone) and is separated from the abdomen below by the diaphragm. The chest cavity contains the heart, the thoracic aorta, lungs, and esophagus (swallowing passage) among other important organs. The wall of the chest cavity is made up of the rib cage and diaphragm. The chest wall is firm enough to protect the organs in the chest cavity but flexible enough to move outward and inward with respiration (breathing).
A $17.5 million commitment for cancer research from Madeline and Sidney Forbes of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., will create the Forbes Institute for Cancer Discovery within the U-M Rogel Cancer Center.
A new study explains how cancer cells use energy to fuel this switch between motion and proliferation. The researchers identified for the first time a connection between a cancer gene that controls motility and how cancer cells metabolize energy to move and divide so quickly.
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