The thymus in hepatic cirrhosis

Abstract

A post-mortem examination, in the case of a 34-year-old man dying suddenly from head injuries sustained in a road accident, showed early cirrhosis of the liver and associated splenomegaly 17 years after an attack of infective hepatitis. The histology of the thymus showed abnormal changes in the medulla, consisting of epithelial hyperplasia and the presence of lymph follicles with germinal centres. It is suggested that an auto-immune mechanism underlay the pathogenesis of the cirrhosis and that the thymic changes were concerned with this.