Effect of Thymus on the Thyroid and Pituitary Thyrotropic Function

Summary

Thymus inflammation induced in infantile guinea pigs and rabbits by administration of melted paraffin drops into the thymic parenchyma resulted in enhancement of the thyroid functional activity. Thymosin injections provoked an idential effect. In both variants of these experiments the pituitary thyrotropin level remained within the norm. Hence, the pituitary thyrotropic function as in thyrotoxicosis lost the ability of response to enhancement of the thyroid hormone production. This result suggests that the cause of desorganization of the negative feedback between the thyroid and the pituitary thyrotropic function might be attributed to enforcement of the stimulated thymus secretory activity.

Key words

Thymitis - thymosin - thyroid activation - calcitoninocytes - sympathetic ganglia