自Miller对新生小鼠的胸腺切除实验以来,已经证明胸腺对于细胞免疫功能的成熟是必不可少的。缺乏胸腺可使称之为T细胞(即胸腺依赖细胞)的一种淋巴细胞缺失。为作过胸腺切除的初生小鼠进行胸腺移植,可重建立其T细胞群和全体免疫功能。在这些最初的实验之后,大量的研究工作使我们明确了胸腺在T细胞成熟过程中的极端复杂作用,并分析对组成腺胸微环境(microenvironnement thymique)各因素的功能,性质和来源,以及这种成熟的不同阶段:干细胞的移行,在胸胸内的分化和这种分化在外周循环 Since Miller’s thymus resection of newborn mice, it has been demonstrated that the thymus is essential for the maturation of cellular immune functions. The lack of the thymus makes it a type of lymphoid cell called T cells (thymus-dependent cells). Thymus transplantation for thymus-removed neonatal mice restores T-cell populations and overall immune function. After these initial experiments, a great deal of research has allowed us to clarify the extremely complex role of the thymus in the maturation of T cells and to analyze the function, properties and sources of the various factors that make up the microenvironnement thymique, Different stages of maturation: stem cell migration, differentiation within the thorax and this differentiation in the peripheral circulation