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Exocrine glands are glands that secrete their products (excluding hormones and other chemical messengers) into ducts (duct glands) which lead directly into the external environment. They are the counterparts to endocrine glands, which secrete their products (hormones) directly into the bloodstream (ductless glands) or release hormones (paracrines) that affect only target cells nearby the release site.

To the degree to which the activity of these cells is regulated by the nervous system may reflect the role psychological factors could have in the operation of these glands. Effects that might underpin the psychosomatic links with disorders of these systems.

Examples[]

Typical exocrine glands include sweat glands, salivary glands, mammary glands, stomach, liver, pancreas. (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, 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 gland, holocrine gland, or merocrine 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.

Product secreted[]

  • Serous cells secrete proteins, often enzymes. Examples include chief cells and Paneth cells
  • Mucous cells secrete mucus. Examples include Brunner's glands, esophageal glands, and pyloric glands
  • Mixed glands secrete both protein and mucus. Examples include the salivary glands, although parotid gland is predominantly serous, the sublingual gland 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 skin coiled tubular
Bartholin's glands, Tiedmann's glands, vulvovaginal glands vulva, vagina
Bauhin's glands, anterior lingual glands tongue, near tip nonserous or mixed
Brunner's glands, duodenal glands duodenum mucous compound tubular
Bulbourethral glands, Cowper's glands, Mery's glands penis, base
Ciaccio's glands, accessory lacrimal glands eye
Cobelli's glands esophagus, just above the cardia, in the mucosa mucous
Duverney's gland vagina, on either side
Ebner's glands tongue serous
Eccrine sweat glands skin coiled tubular
Esophageal glands esophagus mucous racemose
Exocrine pancreas pancreas serous tubulo-acinar
Fränkel's glands vocal cords, below the edge
Gastric chief cell, Wasmann's glands stomach serous
Glomus coccygeum, coccygeal gland, Luschka's gland or ganglion coccyx, near the tip
Goblet cells digestive tract, respiratory tract mucous simple unicellular
Henle's glands eyelids, in the conjuctiva tubular
Huguier's glands vagina
Krause's glands conjunctiva, middle portion mucous
Lieberkuhn's glands intestines, surface of mucous membrane simple tubular
Littré's glands, Morgagni's glands spongy portion of the urethra racemose
Mammary gland breast compound tubulo-acinar
Meibomian gland eyelids sebaceous
Moll's glands eyelids
Montgomery's glands mammary areola sebaceous
Naboth's glands cervix and os uteri mucous
Olfactory glands, Bowman's glands nose, olfactory region
Paneth cells small intestine serous
Gley's glands, Sandstroem's glands
parotid gland mouth serous tubulo-alveolar
Peyer's patches (or glands) ileum, lymphatic glands
Prostate surrounds the urethra just below the urinary bladder
Pyloric glands stomach mucous simple branched tubular
Sebaceous gland skin sebum acinar - branched
Skene's glands, Guérin's glands vagina
Sublingual gland, Rivini's gland mouth mucus (primarily) tubulo-alveolar
Submandibular gland mouth mixed (M+S) tubulo-alveolar
Sudoriparous glands, Boerhaave's glands skin
Sigmund's glands epitrochlear lymph nodes
Suzanne's gland mouth, beneath the alveolingual groove mucous
Weber's glands tongue mucous tubular
Glands of Zeis eyelids, free edges sebaceous

See also[]

Additional images[]

References[]

External links[]


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