Endocrine disruptor Endocrine disruptor Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormone) systems at certain doses. These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. Any system in the body controlled by hormones can be derailed by hormone disruptors. Specifically, endocrine disruptors may be associated with the development of learning disabilities, severe attention deficit disorder, cognitive and brain development problems; deformations of the body (including limbs); breast cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid and other cancers; sexual development problems such as feminizing of males or masculinizing effects on females, etc. Recently the Endocrine Society released a statement on
Ciaccio's glands Ciaccio's glands Ciaccio's glands or Wolfring's glands are small tubular accessory lacrimal glands ("glandulae lacrimales accessoriae") found in the lacrimal caruncle of the eyelid. They are located in the upper border of the tarsus, approximately in the middle between the extremities of the tarsal glands. Sometimes they are situated slightly above the tarsus. There are usually 2 to 5 of these glands in the upper eyelid, and their function is to produce tears which are secreted onto the surface of the conjunctiva. They are named after Italian anatomist Giuseppe Vincenzo Ciaccio (1824–1901), who described these glands in 1874. They are