title: Inside the thymus.
abstract: The thymus has fascinated immunologists since the discovery that it influenced the maturation of T lymphocytes. However, only within the past five years have investigations of the thymus progressed beyond descriptive histology or functional studies performed at the population level. Our closeness to an understanding of the raison d'être of the thymus was discussed at a recent meeting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03756, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith