ductless gland
1
6.1
- noun
- /ˈdʌktləs ɡlænd/
- Specialized
:
glándula endocrina
- Many ductless glands, including the pancreas, play crucial roles in maintaining hormonal balance in the body.
Examples
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But in creatures with a less complex nervous development... life processes are governed by chemical substances... secreted by ductless glands“. and carried in their bloodstream.
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The thyroid is a vital ductless gland that regulates metabolism by releasing hormones directly into the bloodstream.
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That spleen noun is a highly vascular ductless gland which serves to produce certain changes in the blood.
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In humans, the adrenal glands are ductless glands that produce hormones like adrenaline during stress.
Synonyms
1
4.3
A part of the body that makes hormones and sends them into the blood
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'ductless' (without ducts) + 'gland' (an organ that secretes), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a gland lacking ducts (i.e., an endocrine gland). The formation is regular (duct + -less) and follows transparent morphological patterns found cross-linguistically, making the phrase immediately comprehensible to learners who know the parts.
Etymology
Ductless gland names a gland with no duct, a small tube, so it sends hormones straight into the blood. That's why it means 'releases hormones directly into the bloodstream'.