| apocrine gland | A gland whose secretory product includes an apical portion of the secretory cell such as the secretion of lipid droplets in lactation. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| apocrine glands | Large, branched, specialised sweat glands that empty into the upper portion of a hair follicle instead of directly onto the skin. (12 Dec 1998) |
| apocrine | <physiology> Form of secretion in which the apical portion of the cell is shed, as in the secretion of fat by cells of the mammary gland. The fat droplet is surrounded by apical plasma membrane and this has been used experimentally as a source of plasma membrane. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| apocrine adenoma | <tumour> A solitary benign tumour occurring in women usually in the labia majora, cystic and papillary, and composed of epithelium resembling that of apocrine glands. Synonym: apocrine adenoma, hidradenoma papilliferum. (05 Mar 2000) |
| apocrine carcinoma | <tumour> A carcinoma composed predominantly of cells with abundant eosinophilic granular cytoplasm, occurring in the breast, a carcinoma of the apocrine glands. (05 Mar 2000) |
| apocrine metaplasia | Alteration of acinar epithelium of breast tissue to resemble apocrine sweat glands; seen commonly in fibrocystic disease of the breasts. (05 Mar 2000) |
| apocrine miliaria | Chronic pruritic disease, usually in women, characterised by small follicular papular eruptions in apocrine areas. It is caused by obstruction and rupture of intraepidermal apocrine ducts. (12 Dec 1998) |
| apocrine sweat glands | Sudoriferous glands that develop in association with hair follicles and undergo enlargement and secretory development at puberty; they secrete a viscous and odourless sweat that supports the growth of bacteria leading to an acrid odour; secretion is by an eccrine, not apocrine, mechanism. Synonym: axillary sweat glands. (05 Mar 2000) |
| accessory gland | A small mass of glandular structure, detached from but lying near another and larger gland, to which it is similar in structure and probably in function. (05 Mar 2000) |
| accessory parotid gland | An occasional islet of parotid tissue separate from the mass of the gland, lying anteriorly just above the commencement of the parotid duct. Synonym: glandula parotidea accessoria, admaxillary gland, glandula parotis accessoria, socia parotidis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| accessory thyroid gland | An isolated mass, or one of several such masses, of thyroid tissue, sometimes present in the side of the neck, or just above the hyoid bone (suprahyoid accessory thyroid gland), or even as low as the arch of the aorta. Synonym: glandula thyroidea accessoria, accessory thyroid, prehyoid gland, suprahyoid gland, thyroidea accessoria, thyroidea ima, Wolfler's gland. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acid gland | One of the gastric gland's secreting the hydrochloric acid of the gastric juice. Synonym: oxyntic gland. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acinotubular gland | A gland whose secretory elements are elongated acini. Synonym: acinotubular gland. (05 Mar 2000) |
| acinous gland | A gland in which the secretory unit(s) has a grapelike shape and a very small lumen; e.g., the exocrine part of the pancreas. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adenoma, sweat gland | A benign neoplasm derived from epithelial cells of sweat glands. (12 Dec 1998) |
| admaxillary gland | An occasional islet of parotid tissue separate from the mass of the gland, lying anteriorly just above the commencement of the parotid duct. Synonym: glandula parotidea accessoria, admaxillary gland, glandula parotis accessoria, socia parotidis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adrenal gland | <anatomy, endocrinology> This gland is found above each kidney and it made up of an outer wall (cortex) that secretes important steroid hormones and an inner portion (medulla) that produces adrenaline (adrenaline) and noradrenaline (noradrenaline). The hormones help control heart rate, blood pressure, the way the body uses food, and other vital functions. (25 Jun 1999) |