| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,522,037,049 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Salt gland |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.08 sec. |
|
Salt gland A specialized gland located around the eyes and nasal passages in marine turtles, snakes, and lizards, and in birds such as the petrels, gulls, and albatrosses, which spend much time at sea. In the marine turtle it is an accessory lacrimal gland which opens into the conjunctival sac. In seagoing birds and in marine lizards it opens into the nasal passageway. Salt glands copiously secrete a watery fluid containing a high percentage of salt, higher than the salt content of urine in these species. As a consequence, these animals are able to drink salt-laden sea water without experiencing the dehydration necessary to eliminate the excess salt via the kidney route. See Gland How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | |
|---|---|---|
S gaffneyi had enlarged eye sockets, indicating that huge lachrymal salt glands surrounded their eyes, according to Ren Hirayama of Teikyo, Heisei University in Ichihara, Japan. For example, says Olson, the two groups of birds have salt glands located between the eyes and the skull, whereas the salt glands on most other seabirds--including albatrosses--are found in deep grooves on top of the skull. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|