Quick Facts
The glands of Wolfring are small tubuloalveolar glands in the subconjunctival tissue above the upper border of the tarsal plate, their ducts opening on the conjunctival surface (Dorland, 2011).
Related parts of the anatomy
Structure and/or Key Feature(s)
The glands of Wolfring are accessory lacrimal glands located above the tarsal plates. They are histologically similar to the main lacrimal gland and the other class of accessory lacrimal glands, those of Krause. Though they are few, there are more glands of Wolfring in the upper eyelid than the lower.
Anatomical Relations
The glands of Wolfring in the upper eyelid are located along the superior border of the tarsal plate, or slightly above it. Their ducts open through the conjunctiva, secreting tears immediately onto the surface of the cornea deep to the eyelid.
Function
The accessory lacrimal glands produce small amounts of the aqueous component of tears and account for about 10% of total lacrimal secretions (Conrady, Joos and Patel, 2016). This is a watery secretion containing several proteins, such as lysozymes and immunoglobulin A, that protect the surface of the eye from infection, while maintaining the epithelial surface of the eye.
References
Conrady, C. D., Joos, Z. P. and Patel, B. C. (2016) 'Review: The Lacrimal Gland and Its Role in Dry Eye', J Ophthalmol, 2016, 7542929.
Dorland, W. (2011) Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 32nd edn. Philadelphia, USA: Elsevier Saunders.
