Conjunctiva, eyelid glands and lacrimal gland !

Organ

The eyelids, their oil glands and the tear gland keep the front of the eye wet, clean and protected.

Updated 2026-11-01

See it in 3D: Eyelids · Lacrimal gland

What it is

The accessory structures of the eye protect the cornea and keep a stable tear film on it. The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane lining the lids and covering the white of the eye; the eyelid holds skin, muscle, a fibrous tarsal plate with large sebaceous (meibomian) glands, and the lash follicles with their small glands. The lacrimal gland makes the watery part of tears. Blocked or infected lid glands give chalazion and stye, and a poor tear film gives dry eye.

Structure

Conjunctiva: stratified columnar epithelium with goblet cells on a thin lamina propria; palpebral part on the lids, bulbar part over the sclera, stopping at the corneal limbus.
Eyelid, outside to inside: thin skin, orbicularis oculi (skeletal muscle), tarsus (dense fibroelastic plate) and palpebral conjunctiva.
Meibomian (tarsal) glands: large holocrine sebaceous glands inside the tarsus opening on the lid margin.
Glands of Zeis (small sebaceous) and Moll (apocrine sweat) open into or near the lash follicles.
Lacrimal gland: serous tubuloacinar gland in the upper outer orbit, with myoepithelial cells and plasma cells that secrete IgA.

Function

Blinking spreads tears from the upper outer corner toward the medial corner.
Tears drain through the puncta, canaliculi, lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct into the inferior meatus of the nose.

The three layers of the tear film

Layer	Made by	Job
Outer lipid	Meibomian glands	Slows evaporation and keeps tears from spilling over the lid
Middle aqueous	Lacrimal gland and accessory lacrimal glands	Bulk of the tears; carries lysozyme, lactoferrin and IgA
Inner mucin	Conjunctival goblet cells and surface epithelium	Lets the watery layer spread over the cornea

Clinical notes

Chalazion: a painless, firm lump from a blocked meibomian gland, a lipogranuloma on histology.
Hordeolum (stye): a painful acute infection, usually Staphylococcus aureus; external in Zeis or Moll glands, internal in a meibomian gland.
Dry eye: too few tears or tears that evaporate fast (meibomian gland dysfunction); Sjögren syndrome infiltrates the lacrimal gland with lymphocytes.
Conjunctivitis: viral, bacterial or allergic; follicles suggest viral or chlamydial, papillae suggest allergic or bacterial.
Trachoma (Chlamydia trachomatis) scars the tarsal conjunctiva and turns the lashes inward; it persists in Indigenous communities of Vaupés and is a leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide.

Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

What kind of epithelium covers the conjunctiva?

A stratified columnar epithelium with goblet cells, resting on a thin lamina propria.

Which glands make the lipid layer of the tear film?

The meibomian (tarsal) glands, large sebaceous glands inside the tarsal plate of each eyelid.

How do a chalazion and an internal hordeolum differ?

Both involve a meibomian gland: the hordeolum is an acute painful infection, the chalazion a chronic painless lipogranuloma from a blocked duct.

Where does the nasolacrimal duct drain?

Into the inferior meatus of the nasal cavity, under the inferior turbinate.

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See it in 3D

The structures of Durgical's 3D anatomy where it is found.

Microorganisms

← All of histology

Educational content on normal microscopic structure and its clinical relevance; no substitute for studying slides or for a health professional's advice.

Sources: 14.1 Sensory Perception (OpenStax (Rice University), 2022); Chalazion: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, 2026); Dry Eye (National Eye Institute (NEI), 2026).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.