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Studies on the thymus gland of British Cervidae, particularly muntjac, Muntiacus reevesi , and fallow, Dama dama , deer
Author(s) -
Chapman Norma,
Twigg G. I.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1990.tb06021.x
Subject(s) - biology , cervus , breed , zoology , cervus elaphus , mammal , ecology
The thymus in muntjac and fallow deer, as well as in sika ( Cervus nippon and red ( Cervus elaphus , has both cervical and thoracic portions. Foetal development of the gland in muntjac, fallow and sika is rapid and occurs relatively earlier than in the red fox, the only other mammal for which comparable data are available. Between birth and one year the thymus weights of muntjac and fallow fawns do not change significantly, but from then onwards there is a decline in weight and by six years of age the gland is very small. The thymus of muntjac appears to be less responsive to sexual changes than that of fallow and it is suggested that this may be related to the fact that muntjac breed at all times of the year. The thymus response in deer is perhaps less clear‐cut than in other mammals for which we have information and the relationship of the gland to sexual state merits further investigation. Thymus involution occurs with old age and also with trauma and many other stresses experienced by deer in the wild.