title: Surgery of the thymus in Japan.
abstract: The thymus has long been an organ of mystery. Today, it is known to be central to the construction of our immune system. I focus on the days when no one was sure what the thymus's function was. I review the Japanese literature regarding the beginnings of surgery of the thymus, especially the surgery for thymoma and thymectomy, which was performed as a treatment for myasthenia gravis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Immunology, and Surgery, Nagoya City University Postgraduate School of Medical Sciences, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan. yosfujii@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujii
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000266:history / Q000601:surgery*; D013934:Thymectomy / Q000266:history; D013945:Thymoma / Q000266:history / Q000601:surgery*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000266:history / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors