Congenital Aplasia of the Thymus Gland (DiGeorge's Syndrome)

Abstract

Two infants with congenital aplasia of the thymus were found to have normal polymorphonuclear-leukocyte function, immunoglobulins and antibody formation. Delayed hypersensitivity, allograft rejection and in vitro lymphocyte responses to phytohemagglutinin were impaired. Lymphoid tissue of these two patients and postmortem material from a third revealed a moderate deficiency of lymphocytes in the deep cortical regions of the lymph nodes and periarteriolar sheaths of spleen but normal cortical germinal-center activity and plasma cells.