[The thymus gland in computerized tomography. Normal findings and pathology]

Abstract

The diagnostic value of CT in follicular thymic hyperplasia and in thymomas in 8 patients with myasthenia gravis and in 12 patients without myasthenia gravis suffering from thymic tumors was evaluated by correlating CT-findings to surgical results and pathological-histological findings. Thymic size of the six patients with histologically proven follicular hyperplasia were scattered within the normal range, but half of them were at the upper limit. Thymic tumors were differentiated between invasive and non invasive tumors by CT staging. Solid tumors with different histology could not be further classified; the attenuation values ranging from 15-55 HU were the same in tumors, follicular hyperplasia and normal thymus.