Cervical thymic anomalies

Beause of its infrequent occurrence, cervical thymic tissue is rarely consi dered in the differential diagnosis of neck masses. Consequently, diagnosis is most often made by pathologic examination of the excised specimen. The preponderance of reported patients have been children and adolescents, typi cally asymptomatic. The clinical presentation, evaluation and surgical mana gement of five new cases of cervical thymic anomalies ranging from infancy to adulthood are described. The authors also review the embryology and hist opathology of these lesions and discuss their recommended approach to the e valuation and management of cervical thymic anomalies. (C) 1999 Published b y Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.