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Lacrimal gland: anatomy, location and function

The lacrimal gland is the main tear-secreting gland of the eye. It secretes the watery layer of the tears that moisten, nourish and protect the cornea and conjunctiva.

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Highlighted in the model: Lacrimal gland. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Lacrimal gland at a glance

What it is
The lacrimal gland is the main tear-secreting gland of the eye.
Location
It lies in the lacrimal fossa of the frontal bone in the superolateral orbit, partly divided by the levator palpebrae superioris aponeurosis into orbital and palpebral parts.
Function
It secretes the watery layer of the tears that moisten, nourish and protect the cornea and conjunctiva.
Body system
Eye & ear · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA59103 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Parasympathetic secretomotor supply is from the facial nerve (greater petrosal) via the pterygopalatine ganglion.
  • Drains by ducts into the superior conjunctival fornix.

Clinical relevance

Inflammation is called dacryoadenitis.

Structures next to the lacrimal gland

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Lacrimal gland (FMA59103). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §14.1 Sensory Perception. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.