- Lacrimal canaliculi
Infobox Anatomy
Name = PAGENAME
Latin = canaliculus lacrimalis
GraySubject = 227
GrayPage = 1028
Caption = Thelacrimal apparatus . Right side.
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DorlandsPre = c_04
DorlandsSuf = 12208445The lacrimal canaliculi, also known as the lacrimal canals or lacrimal ducts, are the small channels in each
eyelid that commence at minute orifices, termedpuncta lacrimalia , on the summits of thepapillæ lacrimales , seen on the margins of the lids at the lateral extremity of thelacus lacrimalis .* The "superior duct", the smaller and shorter of the two, at first ascends, and then bends at an acute angle, and passes medialward and downward to the
lacrimal sac .* The "inferior duct" at first descends, and then runs almost horizontally to the
lacrimal sac .At the angles they are dilated into ampullæ. Microscopically, they are lined by nonkeratinizing
stratified squamous epithelium surrounded by fibrous tissue.Outside the latter is a layer of striped muscle, continuous with the lacrimal part of the
Orbicularis oculi ; at the base of each lacrimal papilla the muscular fibers are circularly arranged and form a kind ofsphincter .Clinical significance
Canaliculitis is an inflammation of the canaliculus. [ [http://www.revoptom.com/handbook/oct02_sec1_2.htm Handbook of Ocular Disease Management - Molluscum Contagiosum ] ]
ee also
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Lacrimal apparatus
*canaliculus References
External links
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