DiGeorge syndrome

DiGeorge syndrome, which is also called congenital thymic hypoplasia, or third and fourth pharyngeal pouch syndrome, is a birth defect that affects the immune system. (The pharynx is a passage between the mouth and one of the openings of the nasal cavity).The syndrome is marked by absence or underdevelopment of the thymus and parathyroid glands. It is named for the pediatrician who first described it in 1965.