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Exocrine gland

 

 
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Exocrine gland
 
 
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Exocrine glands are gland
Gland

A gland is an Organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ....
s that secrete their products (hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s) into duct
Duct (anatomy)

In anatomy and physiology, a duct is a circumscribed channel leading from an exocrine gland or Organ .Types of ductsExamples include:...
s (duct glands). They are the counterparts to endocrine glands
Endocrine glands

Endocrine glands are glands of the endocrine system that secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood rather than through a duct....
, which secrete their products (hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s) directly into the blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
stream (ductless glands) or release hormones (paracrines) that affect only target cells nearby the release site.

cal exocrine glands include sweat gland
Sweat gland

The skin contains two different groups of sweat glands: apocrine sweat glands and merocrine sweat glands. Both gland types contain myoepithelial cells , specialized epithelial cells located between the gland cells and the underlying basal lamina....
s, salivary gland
Salivary gland

The salivary glands in mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva. They also secrete amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into glucose. In other organisms such as Insecta, salivary glands are often used to produce biologically important proteins like silk or glues, and fly salivary glands contain polytene chromosomes that have been usefu...
s, mammary gland
Mammary gland

Mammary glands are the organ s that, in mammals, produce milk for the sustenance of the young. These exocrine glands are enlarged and modified sweat glands and give mammals their name....
s, stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
, liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
, pancreas
Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland Organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland , as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing Digestion enzymes that pass to the small intestine....
. (Example of an endocrine gland is the adrenal gland, which is found on top of the kidneys and secretes the hormone adrenaline, among others).

e are many ways of classifying exocrine glands:

rine glands contain a glandular portion and a duct portion, the structures of which can be used to classify the gland.

rine glands are named apocrine
Apocrine

Apocrine is a term used to classify exocrine glands in the study of histology. Cells which are classified as apocrine bud their secretions off through the plasma membrane producing membrane bound vesicles in the Lumen ....
 gland, holocrine
Holocrine

Holocrine is a classification of exocrine glands in the study of Histology.Holocrine secretions are produced within the cell followed by the rupture of the plasma membrane, thus releasing the cellular contents into the Lumen ....
 gland, or merocrine
Merocrine

Merocrine is a classification of exocrine glands in the study of Histology.A cell is classified as merocrine if the secretions of that cell are excreted via exocytosis from secretory vesicles opening into a gland's acinus and flowing through an Epithelium duct or ducts and thence onto a bodily surface or into the Lumen ....
 gland based on how their product is secreted.




ds typically may be referred to by two or more means, though some terms are rarely seen.






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Exocrine glands are gland
Gland

A gland is an Organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ....
s that secrete their products (hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s) into duct
Duct (anatomy)

In anatomy and physiology, a duct is a circumscribed channel leading from an exocrine gland or Organ .Types of ductsExamples include:...
s (duct glands). They are the counterparts to endocrine glands
Endocrine glands

Endocrine glands are glands of the endocrine system that secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood rather than through a duct....
, which secrete their products (hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s) directly into the blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
stream (ductless glands) or release hormones (paracrines) that affect only target cells nearby the release site.

Examples

Typical exocrine glands include sweat gland
Sweat gland

The skin contains two different groups of sweat glands: apocrine sweat glands and merocrine sweat glands. Both gland types contain myoepithelial cells , specialized epithelial cells located between the gland cells and the underlying basal lamina....
s, salivary gland
Salivary gland

The salivary glands in mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva. They also secrete amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into glucose. In other organisms such as Insecta, salivary glands are often used to produce biologically important proteins like silk or glues, and fly salivary glands contain polytene chromosomes that have been usefu...
s, mammary gland
Mammary gland

Mammary glands are the organ s that, in mammals, produce milk for the sustenance of the young. These exocrine glands are enlarged and modified sweat glands and give mammals their name....
s, stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
, liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
, pancreas
Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland Organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland , as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing Digestion enzymes that pass to the small intestine....
. (Example of an endocrine gland is the adrenal gland, which is found on top of the kidneys and secretes the hormone adrenaline, among others).

Types

There are many ways of classifying exocrine glands:

Structure

Exocrine glands contain a glandular portion and a duct portion, the structures of which can be used to classify the gland.
  • The duct portion may be branched (called compound) or unbranched (called simple).
  • The glandular portion may be tubular, acinar
    Acinus

    An acinus refers to the berry-shaped termination of an exocrine gland, where the secretion is produced.They are found in many organs, including:...
    , or may be a mix of the two (called tubuloacinar). If the glandular portion branches, then the gland is called a branched gland.


Method of secretion

Exocrine glands are named apocrine
Apocrine

Apocrine is a term used to classify exocrine glands in the study of histology. Cells which are classified as apocrine bud their secretions off through the plasma membrane producing membrane bound vesicles in the Lumen ....
 gland, holocrine
Holocrine

Holocrine is a classification of exocrine glands in the study of Histology.Holocrine secretions are produced within the cell followed by the rupture of the plasma membrane, thus releasing the cellular contents into the Lumen ....
 gland, or merocrine
Merocrine

Merocrine is a classification of exocrine glands in the study of Histology.A cell is classified as merocrine if the secretions of that cell are excreted via exocytosis from secretory vesicles opening into a gland's acinus and flowing through an Epithelium duct or ducts and thence onto a bodily surface or into the Lumen ....
 gland based on how their product is secreted.

  • Apocrine glands - a portion of the plasma membrane buds off the cell, containing the secretion.
  • Holocrine glands - the entire cell disintegrates to secrete its substance.
  • Merocrine glands - cells secrete their substances by exocytosis
    Exocytosis

    Exocytosis is the durable process by which a cell directs the contents of secretory Vesicle_ out of the cell membrane. These membrane-bound vesicles contain soluble proteins to be secreted to the extracellular environment, as well as membrane proteins and lipids that are sent to become components of the cell membrane....
    . Also called "eccrine."


Product secreted

  • Serous cells secrete protein
    Protein

    Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
    s, often enzyme
    Enzyme

    Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
    s. Examples include chief cells and Paneth cells
    Paneth cells

    Paneth cells are found in the intestinal tract. They contain zinc and lysozyme as well as large eosinophilic refractile granules within their apical cytoplasm....
  • Mucous cells secrete mucus
    Mucus

    In vertebrates, mucus is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is a viscous colloid containing antiseptic enzymes and immunoglobulins that serves to protect Epithelium in the respiratory,...
    . Examples include Brunner's glands
    Brunner's glands

    Brunner glands are compound tubular Submucosa glands found in that portion of the duodenum which is above the sphincter of Oddi. The main function of these glands is to produce an alkaline secretion in order to:...
    , esophageal glands
    Esophageal glands

    The esophageal glands are small compound racemose exocrine glands of the mucous type.They are lodged in the submucous tissue, and each opens upon the surface by a long excretory Duct ....
    , and pyloric glands
    Pyloric glands

    The pyloric glands are found in the pyloric portion of the stomach.They consist of two or three short closed tubes opening into a common duct or mouth....
  • Mixed glands secrete both protein and mucus. Examples include the salivary glands, although parotid gland
    Parotid gland

    For the toad wart, see parotoid gland.The parotid gland is the largest of the salivary glands. It is found wrapped around the mandibular ramus, and it secretes saliva through Stensen's duct into the oral cavity, to facilitate mastication and swallowing....
     is predominantly serous, the sublingual gland
    Sublingual gland

    The sublingual glands are salivary glands in the mouth.They lie anterior to the submandibular gland under the tongue, beneath the mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth....
     is predominantly mucous and the submandibular gland is both serous and mucous.


List of exocrine glands

Glands typically may be referred to by two or more means, though some terms are rarely seen. The names of the anatomists who first described them are often employed, as:

name(s) location product structure >- | apocrine sweat glands
Apocrine sweat glands

Apocrine glands are composed of a coiled secretory portion located at the junction of the dermis and subcutaneous fat, from which a straight portion inserts and secretes into the infundibular portion of the hair follicle....
  		skin
Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
  		- - | Bartholin's glands, Tiedmann's glands, vulvovaginal glands vulva
Vulva

The vulva refers to the external sex organ of the female. In colloquial speech, the term vagina is often used to refer to the female genitals generally, although, strictly speaking, the vagina is a specific internal structure, whereas the vulva is the whole exterior genitalia....
, vagina
Vagina

The vagina is a fibromuscular cylinder tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles....
  		- - | Bauhin's glands
Anterior lingual glands

Anterior lingual glands are deeply placed seromucous glands that are located near the tip of the tongue on each side of the frenulum linguae....
, anterior lingual glands 		tongue
Tongue

The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing . It is the primary organ of taste. Much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds....
, near tip 		nonserous or mixed - | Brunner's glands
Brunner's glands

Brunner glands are compound tubular Submucosa glands found in that portion of the duodenum which is above the sphincter of Oddi. The main function of these glands is to produce an alkaline secretion in order to:...
, duodenal glands 		duodenum
Duodenum

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum....
  		mucous - | bulbourethral glands, Cowper's glands, Mery's glands penis
Penis

The penis is an external sex organ of certain biologically male organisms, in both vertebrates and invertebrates.The penis is a reproductive organ, technically an intromittent organ, and for Eutheria, additionally serves as the external organ of urination....
, base 		- - | Ciaccio's glands
Ciaccio's glands

Ciaccio's glands are small tubular accessory lacrimal glands found in the lacrimal caruncle of the eyelid. They are located in the upper border of the tarsus , approximately in the middle between the extremities of the tarsal glands....
, accessory lacrimal glands 		eye
Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
  		- - | Cobelli's glands esophagus
Esophagus

The esophagus or oesophagus , sometimes known as the gullet, is an Organ in vertebrates which consists of a Muscle tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach....
, just above the cardia
Cardia

The cardia is the anatomy term for the junction orifice of the stomach and the esophagus. At the cardia, the mucosa of the esophagus transitions into gastric mucosa....
, in the mucosa 		mucous - | Duverney's gland vagina
Vagina

The vagina is a fibromuscular cylinder tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles....
, on either side 		- - | Ebner's glands
Ebner's glands

Ebner's glands are exocrine glands found in the mouth. More specifically, they are serous glands salivary glands which reside within the moats surrounding the circumvallate papillae in the posterior one-third of the tongue, anterior to the terminal sulcus ....
  		tongue
Tongue

The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing . It is the primary organ of taste. Much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds....
  		serous - | eccrine sweat glands
Eccrine sweat glands

Eccrine glands are composed of an intreaepidermal spiral duct, the "acrosyringium," a straight dermal portion, and a coiled acinar portion in the dermis or hypodermis, and are found at virtually all sites on the human body....
  		skin
Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
  		- - | esophageal glands
Esophageal glands

The esophageal glands are small compound racemose exocrine glands of the mucous type.They are lodged in the submucous tissue, and each opens upon the surface by a long excretory Duct ....
  		esophagus
Esophagus

The esophagus or oesophagus , sometimes known as the gullet, is an Organ in vertebrates which consists of a Muscle tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach....
  		mucous - | exocrine pancreas
Exocrine pancreas

The exocrine pancreas has ducts that are arranged in clusters called acini . Pancreatic secretions are secreted into the lumen of the acinus, and then accumulate in intralobular ducts that drain to the main pancreatic duct, which drains directly into the duodenum....
  		pancreas
Pancreas

The pancreas is a gland Organ in the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland , as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing Digestion enzymes that pass to the small intestine....
  		serous - | Fränkel's glands vocal cords, below the edge - - | gastric chief cell
Gastric chief cell

A gastric chief cell is a cell in the stomach that releases pepsinogen, gastric lipase and rennin. The cell stains basophilic upon H&E stain due to the large proportion of rough endoplasmic reticulum in its cytoplasm....
, Wasmann's glands 		stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
  		serous - | glomus coccygeum, coccygeal gland, Luschka's gland or ganglion coccyx
Coccyx

The coccyx , commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the human spine . Comprising three to five separate or fused vertebrae below the sacrum, it is attached to the sacrum by a fibrocartilaginous joint, the sacrococcygeal symphysis, which permits limited movement between the sacrum and the coccyx....
, near the tip 		- - | goblet cells digestive tract, respiratory tract
Respiratory tract

In humans the respiratory tract is the part of the anatomy that has to do with the process of Respiration .The respiratory tract is divided into 3 segments:...
  		mucous - | Henle's glands
Crypts of Henle

Crypts of Henle are microscopic pockets found in scattered sections of the conjunctiva around the eyeball. They are responsible for secreting mucin, a proteinous substance that makes up the inner layer of tears....
  		eyelids, in the conjuctiva - - | Huguier's glands vagina
Vagina

The vagina is a fibromuscular cylinder tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles....
 		 - - | Krause's glands
Krause's glands

Krause's glands are small, mucous accessory lacrimal glands that are found underneath the eyelid where the upper and lower conjuctiva meet. Their ducts unite into a rather long Sinus which open into the fornix conjunctiva....
  		conjunctiva
Conjunctiva

The conjunctiva is a clear mucous membrane consisting of cells and underlying basement membrane that covers the sclera and lines the inside of the eyelids....
, middle portion 		mucous - | Lieberkuhn's glands intestines, surface of mucous membrane
Mucous membrane

The mucous membranes are linings of mostly germ layer origin, covered in epithelium, which are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organ ....
  		- - | Littré's glands, Morgagni's glands spongy portion of the urethra - racemose |- | mammary gland
Mammary gland

Mammary glands are the organ s that, in mammals, produce milk for the sustenance of the young. These exocrine glands are enlarged and modified sweat glands and give mammals their name....
  		breast
Breast

The breast is the upper ventral region of an animal?s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate?s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
  		- - | Meibomian gland
Meibomian gland

The meibomian glands are a special kind of sebaceous glands at the rim of the eyelids, responsible for the supply of sebum, an oily substance that prevents evaporation of the eye's Tears film, prevents tear spillage onto the cheek, and makes the closed lids airtight....
  		eyelids sebaceous - | Moll's glands
Glands of Moll

Glands of Moll, also known as ciliary glands, are modified apocrine sweat glands that are found on the margin of the eyelid. They are next to the base of the eyelashes, and anterior to the Meibomian glands within the distal eyelid margin....
  		eyelids - - | Montgomery's glands mammary areola
Areola

In human anatomy, the term areola, plural areolae, is used to describe any circular area such as the colored skin surrounding the nipple....
  		sebaceous - | Naboth's glands cervix
Cervix

The cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus where it joins with the top end of the vagina. It is cylindrical or conical in shape and protrudes through the upper anterior vaginal wall....
 and os uteri 		mucous - | olfactory glands
Olfactory glands

Beneath the epithelium, and extending through the thickness of the mucous membrane, is a layer of tubular, often branched, glands, the olfactory glands , identical in structure with serous glands....
, Bowman's glands 		nose
Nose

Anatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for Respiration in conjunction with the mouth....
, olfactory region 		- - | Paneth cells
Paneth cells

Paneth cells are found in the intestinal tract. They contain zinc and lysozyme as well as large eosinophilic refractile granules within their apical cytoplasm....
  		small intestine
Small intestine

In vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, birds, and bony fish, the small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach, and is where the vast majority of digestion takes place....
  		serous - | Gley's glands, Sandstroem's glands - - | parotid gland
Parotid gland

For the toad wart, see parotoid gland.The parotid gland is the largest of the salivary glands. It is found wrapped around the mandibular ramus, and it secretes saliva through Stensen's duct into the oral cavity, to facilitate mastication and swallowing....
  		mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
  		serous - | Peyer's patches
Peyer's patches

Peyer's patches are diffuse lymphoid tissue, named after the 17th-century Swiss anatomist Johann Conrad Peyer. They are aggregations of lymphoid tissue that are usually found in the lowest portion of the small intestine in humans; as such, they differentiate the ileum from the duodenum and jejunum in that the number of Peyer's patches increa...
 (or glands) 		ileum
Ileum

The ileum is the final section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms posterior intestine or distal intestine may be used instead of ileum....
, lymphatic glands 		- - | pyloric glands
Pyloric glands

The pyloric glands are found in the pyloric portion of the stomach.They consist of two or three short closed tubes opening into a common duct or mouth....
  		stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
  		mucous - | sebaceous gland
Sebaceous gland

Sebaceous glands are small glands in the skin which secrete an oily matter in the hair follicles to lubricate the skin and hair of animals. In humans, they are found in greatest abundance on the face and scalp, though they are distributed throughout all skin sites except the palms and soles....
  		skin
Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
  		sebum - | Skene's glands, Guérin's glands vagina
Vagina

The vagina is a fibromuscular cylinder tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles....
  		- - | sublingual gland
Sublingual gland

The sublingual glands are salivary glands in the mouth.They lie anterior to the submandibular gland under the tongue, beneath the mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth....
, Rivini's gland 		mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
  		mucus (primarily) - | submandibular gland
Submandibular gland

The paired submandibular glands are salivary glands located beneath the floor of the mouth. In humans, they account for 70% of the salivary volume and weigh about 15 grams....
  		mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
  		mixed (M+S) - | sudoriparous glands, Boerhaave's glands skin
Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
  		- - | Sigmund's glands epitrochlear lymph node
Lymph node

A Lymph node is an organ consisting of many types of cells, and is a part of the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes are found all through the body, and act as filters or traps for foreign particles....
s 		- - | Suzanne's gland mouth, beneath the alveolingual groove mucous - | Weber's glands tongue
Tongue

The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing . It is the primary organ of taste. Much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds....
  		mucous - | Glands of Zeis
Glands of Zeis

Glands of Zeis are unilobar sebaceous glands located on the margin of the eyelid. The glands of Zeis service the eyelash. These glands produce an oily substance that is issued through the excretory ducts of the sebaceous lobule into the middle portion of the hair follicle....
  		eyelids, free edges sebaceous -


See also

  • Wikipedia:MeSH A10#MeSH A10.336 --- exocrine glands


Prostate gland is an exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system. It secretes a clear and basic fluid that constitutes 1/3 of the volume of semen.

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