gland

n. [ F. glande, L. glans, glandis, acorn; akin to Gr. &unr_; for &unr_;, and &unr_; to cast, throw, the acorn being the dropped fruit. Cf. Parable, n. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Anat.) (a) An organ for secreting something to be used in, or eliminated from, the body; as, the sebaceous glands of the skin; the salivary glands of the mouth. (b) An organ or part which resembles a secreting, or true, gland, as the ductless, lymphatic, pineal, and pituitary glands, the functions of which are very imperfectly known. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The true secreting glands are, in principle, narrow pouches of the mucous membranes, or of the integument, lined with a continuation of the epithelium, or of the epidermis, the cells of which produce the secretion from the blood. In the larger glands, the pouches are tubular, greatly elongated, and coiled, as in the sweat glands, or subdivided and branched, making compound and racemose glands, such as the pancreas. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) (a) A special organ of plants, usually minute and globular, which often secretes some kind of resinous, gummy, or aromatic product. (b) Any very small prominence. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Steam Mach.) The movable part of a stuffing box by which the packing is compressed; -- sometimes called a follower. See Illust. of Stuffing box, under Stuffing. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mach.) The crosspiece of a bayonet clutch. [ 1913 Webster ]