Thymic sail sign

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 21 Apr 2021

The thymic sail sign represents a triangular-shaped inferior margin of the normal thymus seen on a neonatal frontal chest radiograph. It is more commonly seen on the right side, but can also be bilateral. It is seen in 3-15% of all cases. This sign should not be confused with the spinnaker sail sign which indicates a pneumomediastinum.

See also

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Cases and figures

  • Figure 1: sail boat
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  • Case 1
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  • Case 2: right side
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  • Case 3
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  • Case 4
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  • Case 5
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