Submucosal glands can refer to various

racemose A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

exocrine glands Exocrine glands are glands that secrete substances on to an epithelial surface by way of a duct. Examples of exocrine glands include sweat, salivary, mammary, ceruminous, lacrimal, sebaceous, prostate and mucous. Exocrine glands are one of ...

of the mucous type. These glands secrete

mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It ...

to facilitate the movement of particles along the body's various tubes, such as the throat and intestines. The mucosa is the lining of the tubes, like a kind of ''skin''. ''Submucosal'' means that the actual gland resides in the connecting tissue below the mucosa. The submucosa is the tissue that connects the mucosa to the

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...

outside the tube. The glands themselves are quite complex. The mucus factory is at the bottom, in the submucosa, it is composed of many little sacs (acini) where the mucus originates. Each sac (acinus) has one end that can open and close (dilate) to allow the mucus out. The acini empty into little tubes (tubules) that lead to a reservoir (collecting duct) that has a portal through the ''skin'' (mucosa) that can open and close allowing the mucus into the main tube. The submucosal glands are a companion to

goblet cell Goblet cells are simple columnar epithelial cells that secrete gel-forming mucins, like mucin 5AC. The goblet cells mainly use the merocrine method of secretion, secreting vesicles into a duct, but may use apocrine methods, budding off their s ...

s which also produce mucus, and are found lining the same tubes. * In the upper respiratory system of mammals there are submucosal glands in the airways, notably in the sinuses, the

trachea The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from t ...

and the

bronchial tubes A bronchus is a passage or airway in the lower respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs. The first or primary bronchi pronounced (BRAN-KAI) to branch from the trachea at the carina are the right main bronchus and the left main bronchus. ...

. * In the visual systems of mammals. * In the auditory systems of mammals. * In the throat there are the

esophageal glands The esophageal glands are glands that are part of the digestive system of various animals, including humans. In humans Esophageal glands in humans are a part of a human digestive system. They are a small compound racemose exocrine glands of the m ...

, the submucosal glands of the esophagus. * For the intestine there are

Brunner's glands Brunner's glands (or duodenal glands) are compound tubular submucosal glands found in that portion of the duodenum which is above the hepatopancreatic sphincter (i.e sphincter of Oddi). It also contains submucosa which creates special glands. ...

, the submucosal glands of the duodenum.

Notes

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