Krause's glands Krause's glands Krause's glands are small, mucous accessory lacrimal glands that are found underneath the eyelid where the upper and lower conjuctivae meet. Their ducts unite into a rather long sinus which open into the fornix conjunctiva. There are approximately forty Krause glands in the region of the upper eyelid, and around 6 to 8 in the region of the lower lid. The function of these glands are to produce tears which are secreted onto the surface of the conjuctiva. There are rare instances of tumors associated with Krause's glands. They usually occur as retention cysts in cicatricial conditions of
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,