Lacrimal gland
Glandula lacrimalis
Endocrine & glandsGlandsHeadLeft and right
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- What it is
- An almond-shaped tear gland lodged in a shallow fossa of the frontal bone at the upper outer corner of the eye socket, above and to the side of the eyeball. A larger orbital part and a smaller palpebral part sit either side of the tendon of the upper-lid muscle.
- Function
- Secretes the watery layer of the tear film (with lysozyme and IgA) through 6–12 ducts into the upper outer fornix; blinking spreads it across the eye towards the drainage puncta at the inner corner.
- Size
- About 20 × 12 × 5 mm, ~0.8 g
- Clinical note
- Its parasympathetic supply comes from the facial nerve via the greater petrosal nerve. Autoimmune damage (Sjögren's syndrome) causes dry, gritty eyes; a very swollen gland gives the upper lid a characteristic S-shaped droop.