Age-related morphological changes in the thymus of indigenous Large White pig cross during foetal and postnatal development

Abstract

Objectives:The thymus is found in all vertebrates, the structure of the thymus differs markedly among species. This study investigated the gross anatomy, morphometric and histological changes of the thymus in the indigenous Large White pig cross at various ages of foetal and postnatal periods. Methods: The study used slaughter house specimens obtained after adequate health inspection and slaughter. A total offifty three samples of thymus collected from foetal, prepubertal and pubertal pigs with varied weights were used for grossand histological study. Results: The absolute thymus weight showed significant (p