Association between abnormal Thymic Hassall‘s bodies and congenital heart defects in the children

Babar Zargar; Heena Masrat; Aftab Khan

Volume : VIII, Issue : IV, April - 2019

Association between abnormal Thymic Hassall‘s bodies and congenital heart defects in the children

Babar Zargar, Heena Masrat, Aftab Khan

Abstract :

Background:The development of heart and thymus are closely related. During embyogenesis changes in the microenvironment of the thymic medulla are associated with disrupted migration of neural crest cells which are important in the normogenesis of both heart and thymus. Objectives: To examine the association between congenital heart defects and thymic microstructure. Patients and Methods: Thymic microstructures of patients with congenital heart defects were studied. Twenty nine patients with congenital heart defects were divided into two groups according to the age. Fourteen patients were below 6 years of age formed paediatric group and rest fell in the adult group. Five micro-meter thick sections of thymus were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and the microscopic examination was focused on the structure of Hassall�s bodies. Results:The Hassall�s bodies showed considerable variation in size and detail. In most children with congenital heart defects the Hassall�s bodies were large with heterogenous amorphous material enclosed in cystic dilatations, which are typically seen in adult thymuses. Conclusion: children with complex congenital cardiac defects show adult type thymic Hassall�s bodies.