accessory lacrimal glands

Definition: 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 gland tissue; all 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.

Synonym(s): glandulae lacrimales accessoriaeTA

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