Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2002 Jan;45(1):96-98.

Ectopic Thymus: Presenting as a Lateral Neck Mass

• Park YH
• Kim HY
• Kim BK
• Park CI

Abstract

Solid ectopic thymus is an extremely uncommon etiology of neck mass in infants. It occurs in the line of descent of the thymus from the angle of the mandible to the superior mediastinum. This paper presents the case of a young female, who presented a lateral neck mass in the right side of her neck. Surgical excision revealed an ectopic thymus. Ectopic thymus tissue maybe an infrequent finding, but it should be included in the differential diagnosis of cases involving neck mass, especially in children. We report the case with a short review of the relative literature.

Keyword

Neck mass; Ectopic thymus

MeSH Terms

Child
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Infant
Mandible
Mediastinum
Neck*
Thymus Gland*