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Thymus. The thymus is a lymphoid gland comprised of two identically sized lobes, located behind the sternum (breastbone) but in front of the heart. It derives its name from a resemblance it bears to the bud of the thyme plant (thymus in Latin). At puberty, the thymus reaches the height of its use, becoming its largest.
The function of the thymus is to receive immature T cells that are produced in the red bone marrow and train them into functional, mature T cells that attack only foreign cells. T cells first reside within the cortex of the thymus where they come in contact with epithelial cells presenting various antigens.