Lacrimal apparatus

(anatomy) The functional and structural mechanisms for secreting and draining tears; includes the lacrimal gland, lake, puncta, canaliculi, sac, and nasolacrimal duct.

A network of structures of the eye that secrete tears and drain them from the surface of the eyeball. The parts include the lacrimal glands, the lacrimal ducts, the lacrimal sacs, and the nasolacrimal ducts.

The system that secretes and drains tears into the nasal cavity, consisting of the lacrimal gland, the lacrimal lake, the lacrimal duct, the lacrimal sac, and the nasolacrimal duct.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the structures that secrete and drain tears from the eye

Lacrimal apparatus
The lacrimal apparatus. Right side.
Latin	apparatus lacrimalis
Gray's	subject #227 1028

The lacrimal apparatus is the physiologic system containing the orbital structures for tear production and drainage^[1].
It consists of:

• (a) the lacrimal gland, which secretes the tears, and its excretory ducts, which convey the fluid to the surface of the eye;
• (b) the lacrimal canaliculi, the lacrimal sac, and the nasolacrimal duct, by which the fluid is conveyed into the cavity of the nose.

References

1. ^ Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. Dictionary of Eye Terminology. Gainsville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company, 1990.

External links

• Diagram at hixie.ch

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This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.

v • d • e Head and neck anatomy – accessory organs of the eye / adnexa Eyelid Canthus – Eyelash – Ciliary glands – Palpebral fissure Lacrimal apparatus Lacrimal lake – Lacrimal gland – Lacrimal canaliculi – Lacrimal punctum – Lacrimal papilla – Nasolacrimal duct – Lacrimal sac Other Eyebrow – Orbital septum – Plica semilunaris – Meibomian gland

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