Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Manipulating the Murine Lacrimal Gland
Published on: November 18, 2014
Morphogenesis of the human excretory lacrimal system
C de la Cuadra-Blanco1, M D Peces-Peña, L Jáñez-Escalada
1Department of Anatomy and Embryology II, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. croti@med.ucm.es
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to determine the principal developmental stages in the formation of the excretory lacrimal system in humans and to establish its morphogenetic period. The study was performed using light microscopy on serial sections of 51 human specimens: 33 embryos and 18 fetuses ranging from 8 to 137 mm crown-rump length (CR; 5-16 weeks of development). Three stages were identified in the morphogenesis of the excretory lacrimal system: (1) the formative stage of the lacrimal lamina (Carnegie stages 16-18); (2) the formative stage of the lacrimal cord (Carnegie stages 19-23); and (3) the maturative stage of the excretory lacrimal system, from the 9th week of development onward. A three-dimensional reconstruction of the excretory lacrimal system was performed from serial sections of an embryo at the end of the embryonic period (27 mm CR).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Accessory Structures of the Eye
Glaucoma: Overview
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Physiology of Urine Formation
Glomerular Filtration
The first stage in urine formation is glomerular filtration. Each kidney contains approximately 1 million nephrons, the functional units of filtration, with a...
Classification of Epithelial Tissues: Glandular Epithelium
Multicellular glands are formed during early development when epithelial budding...
Exocrine Glands: Methods of Secretion
Merocrine Secretion
Merocrine secretion is the most common type of exocrine secretion. The secretions are enclosed in vesicles and moved to the cell's apical surface, where the contents are released by exocytosis. For example, mucous, a watery secretion rich in the glycoprotein mucin, is a merocrine secretion. The eccrine glands...

