ˈductless, a.
[-less.]
Having no duct.
ductless glands, ‘term applied to several bodies which present the general character of glands, but possess no excretory ducts. They are the thymus and thyroid bodies, the spleen, adrenals, and the vascular, carotic, coccygeal, and pituitary bodies.’ Syd. Soc. Lex.
| 1849–52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 1112/1 The ductless glands. 1880 Libr. Univ. Knowl. IX. 89 The liver, in one of its functions, is a ductless gland. 1881 Mivart Cat 237 The Thyroid Body or gland is another ductless structure of unknown function. |