Salt gland

Japanese: 塩腺 - えんせん（英語表記）salt gland

A secretory gland found in marine birds and reptiles that concentrates and excretes excess salt from body fluids. Usually found in pairs on the supraorbital margin of the skull, the highly concentrated salt solution produced by this gland leaves the body through the nostrils. It functions actively when a large amount of salt enters the body, such as after feeding in the sea, and regulates salt levels much more efficiently than the kidneys. Pure land birds do not have salt glands.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

海生の鳥類や爬虫類にある分泌腺で，体液中の余剰な塩分を濃縮して排出する機能を有する。通常頭骨の眼窩上縁に1対で存在し，この腺で生じた高濃度の塩分液は鼻孔から体外に出る。海での採餌後など多量の塩分が体内に入ったときに活発に機能し，腎臓よりはるかに能率的に塩分調節を行う。純粋の陸鳥は塩腺をもたない。

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