Lymph Vessels of the Thymus

The lymph vessels of the thymus merge to form 4 to 6 trunks on each side and drain to both the cranial mediastinal and sternal lymph nodes, with possible additional drainage to all the lymph nodes in the cranial mediastinal group. It could not be determined whether the lymph vessels from the small part of the thymus that extend through the thoracic inlet onto the neck in very young animals drain to the caudal cervical lymph node.