Ciaccio's glands orWolfring's glands are small tubularaccessory lacrimal glands (glandulae lacrimales accessoriae) found in thelacrimal caruncle of theeyelid. These accessorylacrimal glands are located in the upper border of thetarsus, approximately in the middle between the extremities of thetarsal glands.[1] Sometimes they are situated slightly above the tarsus.[2] There are usually 2 to 5 of theseglands in the upper eyelid, and their function is to producetears which are secreted onto the surface of theconjunctiva.
They are named after ItaliananatomistGiuseppe Vincenzo Ciaccio (1824–1901), who described these glands in 1874. They are sometimes called "Wolfring's glands" after Polishophthalmologist Emilj von Wolfring (1832-1906), who described them during the same time period as did Ciaccio.
Another type of accessory lacrimal gland are "Krause's glands", which are smaller, more numerous than "Ciaccio's glands" and are found along the superior and inferior fornices of the conjunctival sac.
