An organized aggregation of cells functioning as a secretory or excretory organ. SYN: glandula (1) [TA]. [L. glans, acorn]
- accessory g. a small mass of glandular structure, detached from but lying near another and larger g., to which it is similar in structure and probably in function.
- accessory lacrimal glands [TA] small, compound, branched, tubular glands located sometimes in the middle part of the lid (Wolfring glands, 1872, or Ciaccio glands, 1874) or along the superior and inferior fornices of the conjunctival sac (Krause glands, 1854). These accessory glands are ectopic portions of the lacrimal g. tissue; all of them produce the same kind of tears, secreting onto the conjunctival surface. Henle and Baumgarten “glands” are in fact not glands at all, but mere epithelial invaginations. SYN: glandulae lacrimales accessoriae [TA].
- accessory parotid g. [TA] an occasional islet of parotid tissue separate from the mass of the g., lying anteriorly just above the commencement of the parotid duct. SYN: glandula parotidea accessoria [TA], admaxillary g., glandula parotis accessoria, socia parotidis.
- accessory suprarenal glands [TA] isolated, often minute, masses of suprarenal tissue sometimes found near the main glands or in the broad ligament or the epididymis. SYN: glandulae suprarenales accessoriae [TA].
- accessory thyroid g. [TA] an isolated mass, or one of several such masses, of thyroid tissue, sometimes present in the side of the neck, or ranging in position from just superior to the hyoid bone (suprahyoid accessory thyroid g.) to the arch of the aorta inferiorly. SYN: glandula thyroidea accessoria [TA], accessory thyroid, prehyoid g., suprahyoid g., thyroidea accessoria, thyroidea ima, Wölfler g..
- acid g. one of the gastric glands secreting the hydrochloric acid of the gastric juice. SYN: oxyntic g..
- acinotubular g. SYN: tubuloacinar g..
- acinous g. a g. in which the secretory unit(s) has a grapelike shape and a very small lumen; e.g., the exocrine part of the pancreas.
- adrenal g. SYN: suprarenal g..
- agminate glands, agminated glands SYN: aggregated lymphoid nodules of small intestine, under nodule.
- Albarran glands minute submucosal glands or branching tubules in the subcervical region of the prostate g., emptying for the most part into the posterior portion of the urethra. SYN: Albarran y Dominguez tubules.
- albuminous g. a g. that secretes a watery fluid.
- alveolar g. a g. in which the secretory unit(s) has a saclike form and an obvious lumen; e.g., the active mammary g..
- anal g. 1. one of a number of large sudoriferous glands in the mucous membrane of the anus; 2. an incorrect synonym for anal sac.
- anterior lingual g. one of the small mixed glands deeply placed near the apex of the tongue on each side of the frenulum. SYN: apical g., Bauhin g., Blandin g., glandula lingualis anterior, Nuhn g..
- apocrine g. a g. whose secretory product includes an apical portion of the secretory cell such as the secretion of lipid droplets in lactation.
- apocrine sweat glands sudoriferous glands that develop in association with hair follicles and undergo enlargement and secretory development at puberty; they secrete a viscous and odorless sweat that supports the growth of bacteria leading to an acrid odor; secretion is by an eccrine, not apocrine, mechanism. SYN: axillary sweat glands.
- areolar glands [TA] a number of larger sebaceous glands forming small rounded projections from the surface of the areola of the breast; they enlarge with pregnancy and during lactation secrete a substance presumed to resist chapping. SYN: glandulae areolares [TA], Montgomery follicles, Montgomery glands.
- arteriococcygeal g. SYN: coccygeal body.
- Aselli g. a single large lymph node ventral to the abdominal aorta that receives all the lymph from the intestines in many smaller mammals. SYN: Aselli pancreas.
- Bartholin g. SYN: greater vestibular g..
- Baumgarten glands SYN: Henle glands.
- glands of biliary mucosa small, mucous, tubuloalveolar glands in the mucosa of the larger bile ducts and especially in the neck of the gallbladder. SYN: glandulae mucosae biliosae, Luschka cystic glands, Theile glands.
- brachial g. one of the lymph node s of the arm.
- bronchial glands [TA] mucous and seromucous glands whose secretory units lie outside the muscle of the bronchi. SYN: glandulae bronchiales [TA].
- buccal glands [TA] numerous racemose, mucous, or serous glands in the submucous tissue of the cheeks. SYN: glandulae buccales [TA], genal glands.
- bulbourethral g. [TA] one of two small compound racemose glands, that produce a mucoid secretion, lying side by side along the membranous urethra just above the bulb of the penis; they discharge through a small duct into the spongy part of the urethra. SYN: glandula bulbourethralis [TA], Cowper g., Méry g..
- cardiac g. a coiled tubular g. located in the cardiac region of the stomach; secretes primarily mucus.
- cardiac glands of stomach [TA] glands located in the lamina propria of the uppermost and lowermost levels of the esophagus; they resemble cardiac glands of the stomach in that they are branched tubules of mucous cells, which secrete a neutral mucus assumed to afford protection against acid reflux. SYN: cardiac glands of esophagus, cardiac glands.
- ceruminous glands apocrine sudoriferous glands in the external acoustic meatus. SYN: glandulae ceruminosae (1).
- cervical glands of uterus [TA] branched mucus-secreting glands in the mucosa of the cervix. SYN: cervical glands.
- ciliary glands [TA] a number of modified apocrine sudoriferous glands in the eyelids, with ducts that usually open into the follicles of the eyelashes. SYN: glandulae ciliares [TA], Moll glands.
- circumanal glands large apocrine sweat glands surrounding the anus. SYN: Gay glands, glandulae circumanales.
- glands of (common) bile duct [TA] mucin-secreting tubuloalveolar glands, arranged in clusters, along the walls of the (common) bile duct. SYN: glandulae ductus choledochi [TA], biliary glands, glandulae ductus biliaris.
- compound g. a g. whose larger excretory ducts branch repeatedly into smaller ducts, which ultimately drain secretory units.
- conjunctival glands [TA] clusters of mucous cells in the conjunctival epithelium, most numerous on the bulbar conjunctiva. SYN: glandulae conjunctivales [TA], Terson glands.
- convoluted g. SYN: coil g..
- Cowper g. SYN: bulbourethral g..
- duodenal glands [TA] small, branched, coiled tubular glands that occur mostly in the submucosa of the first third of the duodenum; they secrete an alkaline mucoid substance that serves to neutralize gastric juice. SYN: glandulae duodenales [TA], Brunner glands, Wepfer glands.
- Duverney g. SYN: greater vestibular g..
- Ebner glands serous glands of the tongue opening in the bottom of the trough surrounding the circumvallate papillae.
- eccrine g. a coiled tubular sweat g. (other than apocrine glands) that occurs in the skin on almost all parts of the body.
- ecdysial glands insect structures that originate from the ectoderm of the ventrocaudal part of the head and serve as a source of ecdysone. SYN: peritracheal glands, prothoracic glands, thoracic glands, ventral glands.
- endocrine glands [TA] glands that have no ducts, their secretions being absorbed directly into the blood. SYN: glandulae endocrinae [TA], ductless glands, endocrine system, glands of internal secretion, glandulae sine ductibus.
- esophageal glands a variable number of small compound mucous glands in the submucosa of the esophagus. SYN: glandulae esophageae.
- follicular g. a g. consisting of follicles.
- Galeati glands SYN: intestinal glands.
- gastric glands [TA] branched tubular glands lying in the mucosa of the fundus and body of the stomach; such glands contain parietal cells that secrete hydrochloric acid, zymogen cells that produce pepsin, and mucous cells. SYN: glandulae gastricae [TA], fundic glands, gastric follicles, Wasmann glands.
- Gay glands SYN: circumanal glands.
- Gley glands parathyroid g..
- glomiform glands SYN: glomus (2).
- greater vestibular g. [TA] one of two mucoid-secreting tubuloalveolar glands on either side of the lower part of the vagina, the equivalent of the bulbourethral glands in the male; ensheathed with vestibular bulbs by ischiocavernosus muscles. Thus erection and concurrent muscle contraction cause secretion into vestibule of vagina. SYN: glandula vestibularis major [TA], Bartholin g., Duverney g., Tiedemann g., vulvovaginal g..
- Henle glands formerly considered accessory lacrimal glands, these epithelial invaginations are located near the fornices in the medial part of the palpebral conjunctiva; they open on the conjunctiva surface. SEE ALSO: accessory lacrimal glands. SYN: Baumgarten glands.
- hibernating g. SYN: brown fat.
- holocrine g. a g. whose secretion consists of disintegrated cells of the g. itself, e.g., a sebaceous g., in contrast to a merocrine g..
- interscapular g. SYN: brown fat.
- interstitial g. interstitial cells, under cell.
- intestinal glands [TA] the tubular glands in the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines. SYN: glandulae intestinales [TA], crypts of Lieberkühn, Galeati glands, intestinal follicles, Lieberkühn follicles, Lieberkühn glands.
- intraepithelial glands accumulations of glandular cells that lie within an epithelium, as those of the urethra.
- Krause glands 1. See accessory lacrimal glands. 2. glands in the mucous membrane of the tympanic cavity. See accessory lacrimal glands.
- labial glands [TA] mucous glands in the submucous tissue of the lips. SYN: glandulae labiales [TA].
- lacrimal g. [TA] the g. that secretes tears; it consists of 6–12 separate compound tubuloalveolar serous glands, located in the upper lateral part of the orbit, and is partially divided into a smaller palpebral part (pars palpebralis) and a larger orbital part (pars orbitalis) by the aponeurosis of the levator palpebrae muscle. SYN: glandula lacrimalis [TA].
- lactiferous g. SYN: mammary g..
- glands of large intestine [TA] tubules of mucosal epithelium, perpendicular to the luminal surface that appears sievelike because of the abundance of g. openings; glands are lined with short columnar epithelial cells—mostly goblet cells with interspersed water-absorbing and fewer enteroendocrine cells; the glands of the large intestine are longer (deeper), more abundant, more closely apposed and have a higher density of goblet cells (but no Paneth cells) compared with glands of the small intestine. SEE ALSO: glands of small intestine. SYN: glandulae intestini crassi [TA], crypts of Lieberkühn of large intestine.
- laryngeal glands [TA] a large number of mixed glands in the mucous membrane of the larynx; they are called, according to their situation, anterior, middle, and posterior. SYN: glandulae laryngeae [TA], arytenoid glands.
- lesser vestibular glands [TA] a number of minute mucous glands opening on the surface of the vestibule between the orifices of the vagina and urethra. SYN: glandulae vestibulares minores [TA].
- Lieberkühn glands SYN: intestinal glands.
- Luschka g. 1. SYN: pharyngeal tonsil. 2. former name for corpus coccygeum.
- lymph g. SYN: lymph node.
- major salivary glands [TA] a category of salivary glands's that includes the three largest glands of the oral cavity that also secrete most of the saliva : the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands. SYN: glandulae salivariae majores [TA].
- mammary g. [TA] the potential and active compound, alveolar, apocrine, milk-secreting g. that lies within the breast. It consists of 15–24 lobes, each consisting of many lobules, separated by adipose tissue and fibrous septa; the parenchyma of the resting postpubertal female g. consists of ducts; the alveoli develop only during pregnancy, remaining active until weaning. Normally, the g. remains rudimentary (undistinguishable from that of childhood) in men. SEE ALSO: breast. SYN: glandula mammaria [TA], lactiferous g., milk g..
- marrow-lymph g. a type of hemal node, resembling the bone marrow in structure and probable function.
- master g. SYN: pituitary g..
- maxillary g. SYN: submandibular g..
- merocrine g. a g. that releases only an acellular secretory product, in contrast to a holocrine g..
- Méry g. SYN: bulbourethral g..
- minor salivary glands [TA] the smaller, largely mucus-secreting, exocrine glands of the oral cavity, consisting of the labial, buccal, molar, lingual, and palatine glands. SYN: glandulae salivariae minores [TA].
- mixed g. 1. a g. that contains both serous and mucous secretory units; 2. a g. that is both exocrine and endocrine, e.g., the pancreas.
- molar glands [TA] four or five large buccal glands in the neighborhood of the last molar tooth. SYN: glandulae molares [TA].
- Montgomery glands SYN: areolar glands.
- mucilaginous g. obsolete term for one of the synovial villi, supposed by Havers to secrete the synovia.
- muciparous g. SYN: mucous g..
- nasal glands [TA] seromucous glands in the respiratory region of the nasal mucous membrane. SYN: glandulae nasales [TA].
- odoriferous g. 1. a g., such as Tyson g., the secretion of which has a strong odor; 2. See sweat glands.
- oil glands SYN: sebaceous glands.
- olfactory glands [TA] branched tubuloalveolar serous secreting glands (of Bowman) in the mucous membrane of the olfactory region of the nasal cavity. SYN: glandulae olfactoriae [TA], Bowman g..
- pacchionian glands SYN: arachnoid granulations, under granulation.
- palatine glands [TA] a number of racemose mucous glands in the posterior half of the submucous tissue covering the hard palate. SYN: glandulae palatinae [TA].
- parathyroid g. [TA] one of two small paired endocrine glands, superior and inferior, usually found embedded in the connective tissue capsule on the posterior surface of the thyroid g.; they secrete parathyroid hormone that regulates the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus. The parenchyma is composed of chief and oxyphilic cells arranged in anastomosing cords. Inadvertent removal of all parathyroid glands, as during thyroidectomy, produces tetany and may be fatal in the absence of hormone replacement therapy. SYN: glandula parathyroidea [TA], epithelial body, parathyroid (2).
- parotid g. [TA] the largest of the salivary glands, one of the bilateral compound acinous glands situated inferior and anterior to the ear, on either side, extending from the angle of the jaw inferiorly, to the zygomatic arch superiorly, posteriorly to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, and medially into the infratemporal fossa, deep to the ramus of the mandible; it is subdivided into a superficial part (pars superficialis) and a deep part (pars profunda) by emerging branches of the facial nerve, and discharges through the parotid duct. SYN: glandula parotidea [TA], external salivary g., glandula parotis.
- peritracheal glands SYN: ecdysial glands.
- perspiratory glands SYN: sweat glands.
- pharyngeal glands [TA] racemose mucous glands beneath the mucous membrane of the pharynx. SYN: glandulae pharyngeales [TA].
- Philip glands enlarged deep glands just above the clavicle, found in children with pulmonary tuberculosis and occasionally in others.
- pituitary g. [TA] an unpaired compound g. suspended from the base of the hypothalamus by a short extension of the infundibulum, the infundibular or pituitary stalk. The hypophysis consists of two major subdivisions: 1) the neurohypophysis, comprising the infundibulum and its bulbous termination, the neural part or infundibular process (posterior lobe), which is composed of neuroglia-like pituicytes, blood vessel s, and unmyelinated nerve fibers of the hypothalamohypophyseal tract whose cell bodies reside in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus, and convey to the lobe for storage and release the neurosecretory hormones oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone; 2) the adenohypophysis, comprising the larger distal part, a sleevelike extension of this lobe (infundibular part) that invests the infundibular stalk, and a thin intermediate part (poorly developed in humans) between the anterior and posterior lobes; the anterior lobe consists of cords of cells of several different types interspersed with capillaries of the hypothalamohypophysial portal system; secretion of somatotropins, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, gonadotropins, adrenal corticotropin, and other related peptides in the adenohypophysis is regulated by releasing and inhibiting factors elaborated by neurons in the hypothalamus that are taken up by a primary plexus of capillaries in the median eminence and transported via portal vessels in the infundibular part and infundibular stem to a secondary plexus of capillaries in the distal part. SYN: hypophysis [TA], glandula pituitaria, basal g., glandula basilaris, hypophysis cerebri, master g..
- preputial glands [TA] sebaceous glands of the corona and neck of the glans penis, which produce an odoriferous substance called smegma. SYN: glandulae preputiales [TA], Tyson glands.
- prothoracic glands SYN: ecdysial glands.
- pyloric glands [TA] the coiled, tubular glands of the pylorus whose cells secrete mucus. SYN: glandulae pyloricae [TA].
- racemose g. a g. that has the appearance of a bunch of grapes if viewed as a three-dimensional reconstruction; e.g., a compound acinous or alveolar g..
- Rivinus g. SYN: sublingual g..
- salivary g. [TA] any of the saliva-secreting exocrine glands of the oral cavity. SEE ALSO: major salivary glands, minor salivary glands. SYN: glandula salivaria [TA].
- sebaceous glands [TA] numerous holocrine glands in the dermis that usually open into the hair follicles and secrete an oily semifluid, sebum. SYN: glandulae sebaceae [TA], oil glands, sebaceous follicles.
- seminal g. [TA] one of two folded, sacculated, glandular structures that is a diverticulum of the ductus deferens; its secretion is one of the components of the semen; it normally does not store spermatozoa as was thought historically. SYN: glandula vesiculosa [TA], glandula seminalis, seminal vesicle, vesicula seminalis, gonecyst, gonecystis, seminal capsule.
- sentinel g. a single enlarged lymph node in the omentum that may be an indication of an ulcer opposite to it in the greater or lesser curvature of the stomach.
- seromucous g. 1. a g. in which some of the secretory cells are serous and some mucous; 2. a g. whose cells secrete a fluid intermediate between a watery and a viscous mucoid substance. SYN: glandula seromucosa.
- serous g. a g. that secretes a watery substance that may or may not contain an enzyme. SYN: glandula serosa.
- Serres glands epithelial cell rests found in the subepithelial connective tissue in the palate of the newborn, similar to those found in the gingivae.
- glands of small intestine [TA] parallel, tubular, epithelial pits (crypts) with openings at the bases of the intestinal villi; their thin walls are formed by columnar epithelial cells: mostly undifferentiated stem and intermediate cells and an increasing number of goblet cells as the small intestine proceeds distally, all of which migrate out of the glands onto the villi, but also protein- (enzyme-) secreting Paneth cells which remain in the glands. SEE ALSO: glands of large intestine. SYN: glandulae intestini tenuis [TA], crypts of Lieberkühn of small intestine.
- solitary glands SYN: solitary lymphatic nodules, under nodule.
- sublingual g. [TA] one of two salivary glands in the floor of the mouth beneath the tongue, discharging through the sublingual ducts; most of the secretory units in the human g. are mucus-secreting with serous demilunes. SYN: glandula sublingualis [TA], Rivinus g..
- submandibular g. [TA] one of two salivary glands in the neck, located in the space bounded by the two bellies of the digastric muscle and the angle of the mandible; it discharges through the submandibular duct; the secretory units are predominantly serous although a few mucous alveoli, some with serous demilunes, occur. SYN: glandula submandibularis [TA], maxillary g., submaxillary g..
- submaxillary g. SYN: submandibular g..
- sudoriferous glands SYN: sweat glands.
- suprarenal g. [TA] a flattened, roughly triangular body positioned in relation to the superior end of each kidney but attached primarily to the diaphragmatic crura; it is one of the endocrine (ductless) glands furnishing internal secretions (epinephrine and norepinephrine from the medulla and steroid hormones from the cortex). SYN: glandula suprarenalis [TA], adrenal body, adrenal capsule, adrenal g., atrabiliary capsule, epinephros, glandula atrabiliaris, paranephros, suprarenal body, suprarenal capsule.
- sweat glands [TA] the coil glands of the skin that secrete the sweat to enable evaporative cooling in a hot environment, or in response to emotion. SYN: glandulae sudoriferae [TA], perspiratory glands, sudoriferous glands.
- target g. the effector that functions when stimulated by the internal secretion of another g. or by some other stimulus.
- tarsal glands [TA] sebaceous glands embedded in the tarsal plate of each eyelid, discharging at the edge of the lid near the posterior border. Their secretions create a lipid barrier along the margin of the eyelids which contains the normal secretions in the conjunctival sac by preventing the watery fluid from spilling over the barrier when the eye is open. SYN: glandulae tarsales [TA], meibomian glands, palpebral glands.
- Terson glands SYN: conjunctival glands.
- thoracic glands SYN: ecdysial glands.
- thyroid g. [TA] an endocrine (ductless) g., consisting of irregularly spheroidal follicles, lying in front and to the sides of the upper part of the trachea, and of horseshoe shape, with two lateral lobes connected by a narrow central portion, the isthmus; occasionally an elongated offshoot, the pyramidal lobe, passes upward from the isthmus in front of the trachea. It is supplied by branches from the external carotid and subclavian arteries, and its nerves are derived from the middle cervical and cervicothoracic ganglia of the sympathetic system. It secretes thyroid hormone and calcitonin. SYN: glandula thyroidea [TA], thyroid body, thyroidea.
- Tiedemann g. SYN: greater vestibular g..
- tracheal glands [TA] numerous tubuloalveolar mixed glands located principally in the submucosa of the trachea; they open into the tracheal lumen through short ducts. SYN: glandulae tracheales [TA].
- tubal glands of pharyngotympanic tube [TA] glands located principally near the pharyngeal end of the auditory tube. SYN: glands of auditory tube, glands of eustachian tube, glandulae tubariae, mucous glands of auditory tube.
- tubuloalveolar g. a g. that has secretory units of short tubules.
- urethral glands of female [TA] numerous mucous glands in the wall of the female urethra. SYN: glandulae urethrales femininae [TA], glands of the female urethra, Guérin glands, paraurethral glands, Skene glands.
- urethral glands of male [TA] numerous mucous glands in the wall of the penile urethra. SYN: glandulae urethrales masculinae [TA], glands of the male urethra, Littré glands.
- uterine glands [TA] numerous simple tubular glands in the uterine mucosa that secrete a glycogen-rich mucous fluid during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. SYN: glandulae uterinae [TA].
- ventral glands SYN: ecdysial glands.
- vesical g. one of a number of mucous follicles, not true glands, in the mucous membrane near the neck of the bladder.
- vulvovaginal g. SYN: greater vestibular g..
- Waldeyer glands coil glands near the margins of the eyelids.
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glandular
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gland 'gland n
1) a cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin that selectively removes materials from the blood, concentrates or alters them, and secretes them for further use in the body or for elimination from the body
2) any of various animal structures (as a lymph node) suggestive of glands though not secretory in function
gland·less 'glan-dləs adj
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n.
an organ or group of cells that is specialized for synthesizing and secreting certain fluids, either for use in the body or for excretion. There are two main groups of glands: the exocrine gland, which discharge their secretions by means of ducts, and the endocrine gland, which secrete their products - hormones - directly into the bloodstream. See also secretion.
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(gland) [L. glans acorn] glandula.For descriptions of specific glands not listed here, see under glandula.
Medical dictionary. 2011.