Lexic.us

Definition of Gland

1. Noun. Any of various organs that synthesize substances needed by the body and release it through ducts or directly into the bloodstream.

Definition of Gland

1. n. An organ for secreting something to be used in, or eliminated from, the body; as, the sebaceous glands of the skin; the salivary glands of the mouth.

Definition of Gland

1. Noun. (zoology) An organ that synthesizes a substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). ¹

2. Noun. (botany) A secretory structure on the surface of an organ. ¹

3. Noun. (mechanical) a compressable cylindrical case and its contents around a shaft where it passes through a barrier, intended to prevent the passage of a fluid past the barrier. Examples: ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Gland

1. a secreting organ [n -S]

Medical Definition of Gland

1. Organ specialised for secretion by the infolding of an epithelial sheet. The secretory epithelial cells may either be arranged as an acinus with a duct or as a tubule. Glands from which release occurs to a free epithelial surface are exocrine, those that release product to the circulatory system are endocrine glands. (17 Dec 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Gland

Literary usage of Gland

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical by Henry Gray (1901)
"The veins form a plexus on the surface of the gland and on the front of the ... The thyroid gland i_s subject to enlargement, which is called goitre. ..."

2. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1902)
"Purulent Inflammation of the Palpebral Portion of the Lacrymal gland, ... The accessory lacrymal gland is contained between the two leaflets, ..."

3. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists, Essex Institute (1894)
"The Femoral gland of Ornithorhynchus and Its Secretions.—At the July meeting of the Linnean Soc. NSW a paper on the secretions of the femoral gland of the ..."

4. Monographic Medicine by William Robie Patten Emerson, Guido Guerrini, William Brown, Wendell Christopher Phillips, John Whitridge Williams, John Appleton Swett, Hans Günther, Mario Mariotti, Hugh Grant Rowell (1916)
"The physiology of the thyroid gland. Practitioner, London. ... Remarks on the function of the thyroid gland; a critical and historical review. Brit. ..."

5. The Principles and Practice of Medicine: Designed for the Use of by William Osler, Thomas McCrae (1916)
"DISEASES OF THE THYMUS gland While probably an organ of internal secretion ... At birth the thymus gland weighs about 12 grams; from the first to the fifth ..."

6. A Text Book of Physiology by Michael Foster (1899)
"If the structure of a follicle just described be borne in mind, that of a lymphatic gland is made more easy; for, as a Peyer's patch is a mere aggregation ..."

Other Resources: