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
Thygeson's superficial punctate keratopathy months or years. The causes of TSPK are currently not yet well known. However, there seem to be indications that dysfunctioning of the Meibomian gland can cause the condition. Inflammation of the meibomian glands (also known as meibomitis, meibomian gland dysfunction, or posterior blepharitis) causes the glands to be obstructed by thick waxy secretions. Besides leading to dry eyes, the obstructions can be degraded by bacterial lipases, resulting in the formation of free fatty acids, which irritate the eyes and sometimes cause punctate keratopathy. There are a number of different treatments to deal with TSPK. Symptoms may disappear if untreated,