1Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Histology, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar-751 003, (Orissa), INDIA. E-mail: uk_mishra2001@yahoo.com.
2Department of Veterinary Anatomy, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, pantnagar, 263145, (Uttaranchal), INDIA. E-mail: singhgk2003@yahoo.com.
3Departmentof Veterinary Pathology, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, pantnagar, 263145, (Uttaranchal), INDIA. E-mail: rs_chauhan123@rediffmail.com.
Gross biometrical observations were made on the developing thymus of 130 chicks at 5 day interval from day 1 to day 60 of life. The left and right thymus weighed 0.048 and 0.039 g, 0.585 and 0.486 g, and 3.71 and 3.436 g, on 1, 30 and 60 day of development, respectively. The percent increment in the weight of left and right thymus was 22.917 and 33.333%, 64.329 and 64.189%, and 55.556 and 48.552% during the age of 1–5, 26–30 and 56–60 days, respectively. The thymus (left and right) constituted 0.14 and 0.114%, 0.431 and 0.358%, and 0.358 and 0.332% of the body weight on 1st, 30th and 60th day of observation, respectively. The length and width of the left thymus measured 3.09 and 0.348 cm, 7.822 and 0.859 cm, and 11.411 and 1.235 cm on day 1, 30 and 60, respectively. These values for the right thymus on similar observation days were 2.833 and 0.313 cm, 7.368 and 0.74 cm, and 10.325 and 1.062 cm.
Chick, Thymus, Gross biometry, Development, Thymic weight index
