Preferred Label : Harderian gland;
Uberon definition : The Harderian gland is an anterior orbital gland usually associated with the nictitating
membrane, and produces and secretes a variety of substances to the eye, depending
upon the species[GO].;
Uberon synonym : Harder's gland; Hardarian gland; gland of Hardarian;
Uberon related term : deep gland of the nictitating membrane;
Uberon Function note : The functions attributed to the gland are many and diverse. Amongst these, it has
been held to be a site of immune responses, a source of thermoregulatory lipids, a
source of pheromones, a photoprotective organ and part of a retinal-pineal axis. It
is arguably the last remaining large organ of widespread dis- tribution among the
vertebrates to which we cannot confidently ascribe a confirmed function.;
Uberon Structure note : The harderian gland may be compound tubular (MacLeod, 1880; Paule, 1957) or compound
tubuloacinar/tubuloalveolar (Aureli, 1957; Hoffman, 1971).;
Uberon Taxon note : In mouse the HG appears in the posterior part of eye region, in the form of nonluminated
tubules between the sixteenth and eighteenth days of gestation. At birth it is still
not differentiated histologically. In birds the HG originates from the conjunctival
epithelium at a late embryonic stage. In the English sparrow, Passer domesticus (incubation
period of about 13 days), it appears between the seventh and the eighth days of incubation.
In the chick embryo (incubation period of about 21 days) it originates between the
eleventh and the twelfth days.[PMID:9156609];
Origin ID : 0004187;
UMLS CUI : C0018597;
Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- Semantic type(s)
- UMLS correspondences (same concept)
- Uberon cross reference
- has part
- part of
- produces
The Harderian gland is an anterior orbital gland usually associated with the nictitating
membrane, and produces and secretes a variety of substances to the eye, depending
upon the species[GO].
