Abstract
Uropygial (preen or oil) glands are the largest and most generally present skin glands in birds. There are other integumentary glands in birds but they are small and seldom noticed. They include sebaceous-type glands in the external wall of the auditory meatus (Glandulae auriculares) (Moser 1906; di Colo 1909; Plate 1918; Schumacher 1919; Gomot 1958; Lucas and Stettenheim 1972) and some short tubular glands of the external anal or vent region (Quay 1967). Avian skin also has a generalized or diffuse, holocrine, lipoidal secretory character which is functionally important in diverse ways (Varićak 1938; Lucas 1968, 1970; Lucas and Stettenheim 1972; Shah and Menon 1972; Shah et al. 1977; Menon et al. 1979, 1981).
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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Quay, W.B. (1986). Uropygial Gland. In: Bereiter-Hahn, J., Matoltsy, A.G., Richards, K.S. (eds) Biology of the Integument. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00989-5_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00989-5_13
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