A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).
Every gland is formed by an ingrowth from an epithelial surface.
This ingrowth may from the beginning possess a tubular structure, but in other instances glands may start as a solid column of cells which subsequently becomes tubulated.
For more information about the topic Gland, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Exocrine gland Exocrine glands are glands that secrete their products into ducts. They are the counterparts to endocrine glands, which secrete their products ... >
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Salivary gland The salivary glands produce saliva, which keeps the mouth and other parts of the digestive system moist. It also helps break down carbohydrates (with ... >
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Sweating Sweating (also called perspiration or sometimes transpiration) is the loss of a watery fluid, consisting mainly of sodium chloride (commonly known as ... >
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Endocrine system The endocrine system is a control system of ductless glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones that circulate within the body via the ... >
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Epithelium In zootomy, epithelium is a tissue composed of a layer of cells. Epithelium lines both the outside (skin) and the inside (e.g. intestine) of ... >
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Hair follicle A hair follicle is part of the skin that grows hair by packing old cells together. Attached to the follicle is a sebaceous gland, a tiny ... >
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Pituitary gland The pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea that sits in the small, bony cavity at the base of the brain. The ... >
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Saliva Saliva is the watery and usually somewhat frothy substance produced in the mouths of some animals, including humans. Produced in salivary glands, ... >
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Digestion Digestion is the process whereby a biological entity processes a substance, in order to chemically convert the substance into nutrients. Digestion ... >
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Mammary gland Mammary glands are the organs that, in the female mammal, produce milk for the sustenance of the young. These exocrine glands are enlarged and ... >
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Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Gland at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details. Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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