Preorbital gland

Preorbital gland
Preorbital gland
	Subadult male red deer (Cervus elaphus). The preorbital gland is closed in this photograph.
Details
Artery	lacrimal artery
Nerve	lacrimal nerve, Zygomatic nerve via Communicating branch, greater petrosal nerve
Identifiers
Latin	glandula praeorbitalis
	Anatomical terminology

The preorbital gland is a paired exocrine gland found in many species of artiodactyls, which is homologous to the lacrimal gland found in humans. These glands are trenchlike slits of dark blue to black, nearly bare skin extending from the medial canthus of each eye. They are lined by a combination of sebaceous and sudoriferous glands, and they produce secretions which contain pheromones and other semiochemical compounds.^[1] Ungulates frequently deposit these secretions on twigs and grass as a means of communication with other animals.^[2]^[3]

The preorbital gland serves different roles in different species. Pheromone-containing secretions from the preorbital gland may serve to establish an animal's dominance (especially in preparation for breeding),^[4] mark its territory, or simply to produce a pleasurable sensation to the animal.^[5] Because of its critical role in scent marking, the preorbital gland is usually considered as a type of scent gland. A further function of these glands may be to produce antimicrobial compounds to fight against skin pathogens. Antimicrobial compounds found in these glands may be biosynthesized by the animal itself, or by microorganisms that live in these glands.^[6]

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^ Cite error: The named reference Albone1984 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Schulz2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Kile1977 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference deerglands was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Wood2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Rue2004-1] Cite error: The named reference Rue2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Albone1984-2] Cite error: The named reference Albone1984 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Schulz2005-3] Cite error: The named reference Schulz2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Kile1977-4] Cite error: The named reference Kile1977 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[deerglands-5] Cite error: The named reference deerglands was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Wood2010-6] Cite error: The named reference Wood2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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Preorbital gland

Subadult male red deer (Cervus elaphus). The preorbital gland is closed in this photograph.
Details
Artery	lacrimal artery
Nerve	lacrimal nerve, Zygomatic nerve via Communicating branch, greater petrosal nerve
Identifiers
Latin	glandula praeorbitalis
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]