Anal gland

The anal glands or anal sacs are small glands near the anus in many mammals.[1] They are situated in between the external anal sphincter muscle and internal anal sphincter muscle.[2] In non-human mammals, the secretions of the anal glands contain mostly volatile organic compounds with a strong odor, and they are thus functionally involved in communication. Depending upon the species, they may be involved in territory marking, individual identification, and sexual signalling, as well as defense.[3][better source needed] Their function in humans is unclear.[4]

Sebaceous glands within the lining secrete a liquid that is used for identification of members within a species. These sacs are found in many species of carnivorans,[2] including wolves,[5] bears,[6][7] sea otters[8] and kinkajous.[9]

  1. ^ Howard E. Evans; Alexander de Lahunta (7 August 2013). Miller's Anatomy of the Dog - E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 978-0-323-26623-9.
  2. ^ a b Estes R (1992). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08085-0.
  3. ^ Dorrigiv, Ibrahim; Hadian, Mojtaba; Bahram, Morteza (2023). "Comparison of volatile compounds of anal sac secretions between the sexes of domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)". Veterinary Research Forum. 14 (3): 169–176. doi:10.30466/vrf.2023.1983063.3714. ISSN 2008-8140. PMC 10073811. PMID 37033781.
  4. ^ Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42th ed.). New York. p. 1201. ISBN 978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC 1201341621.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ L. David Mech; Luigi Boitani (1 October 2010). Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-51698-1.
  6. ^ Rosell F, Jojola SM, Ingdal K, Lassen BA, Swenson JE, Arnemo JM, Zedrosser A (Feb 2011). "Brown bears possess anal sacs and secretions may code for sex" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 283 (2): 143–152. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00754.x. hdl:11250/2437930.
  7. ^ Dyce KM, Sack WO, Wensing CJ (1987). Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy. W.B. Saunders Company. ISBN 0-7216-1332-2.
  8. ^ Kenyon KW (1969). The Sea Otter in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.
  9. ^ Ford LS, Hoffman RS (1988-12-27). "Potos flavus". Mammalian Species (321). American Society of Mammalogists: 1–9. doi:10.2307/3504086. JSTOR 3504086.