Exocrines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Secretions that are released externally by glands, such as those from the salivary or sweat glands, through ducts to the surface
2. Processes involving the discharge of substances to an external environment via excretory pathways
3. Referring to glands that produce and release hormones or enzymes directly into a specific location outside the organism's internal environment

Etymology: "Exocrines" is the plural of "exocrine," a noun for the secretions that glands release outward through ducts onto a body surface or into a cavity, such as saliva, sweat, or tears. The word is built from the Greek "exo," meaning "outside," and "krinein," meaning "to separate" or "to sift," which gives the sense of something sorted out and discharged. Its opposite in physiology is the endocrine, a secretion released directly into the bloodstream, so the two terms are a deliberately matched pair built on the same classical root.

Synonyms: glands, secretions, ducts, tissues, cells