Changes in the weight of the thymus after birth and in pregnancy in mice.
The changes in the weight of thymus with age (days after birth) and effects of pregnancy on the weight of thymus were examined using mice. The weight of thymus increased after birth, and reached the maximum (107.5 mg) at the age of 40 days. It started to decrease, and became 48.9 mg at the age of 100 days. Thus, age-related involution of the thymus in the female mice had started 50 days after birth. The weight of thymus was markedly reduced by pregnancy. The weight of thymus at the age of 60 days was 74.8 mg in the intact mice and 19.7 mg in the pregnant mice. Pregnancy greatly affects the weight of the thymus.
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Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan.
Kanayama
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D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development