The evolution of thymic surgery through the years in art and history

The history of the thymus gland dates back more than 2,000 years. Since its discovery, the role of the thymus was a mystery. Misleading disorders attributed to the thymus gland included thymic asthma and status thymicolymphaticus in the late 1800s. The scant information about thymic physiology and function earned this organ the sobriquet “organ of mystery.” The aim of this mini review is to present the historic background of surgery of thymus gland from antiquity to the present day and correlate that to the art in that specific time period.