WHAT THEY ARE: Your tear ducts are short canals leading from the tiny opening on the inside corner of each eye to your nasal passages.
WHAT THEY DO: Your eyes produce tears to lubricate, nourish, and protect your eyes from debris and bacteria. Every time you blink, you spread tears over your eyes, and during a 15-minute period you produce fluid that’s equal to about one large teardrop. Your tear ducts collect this fluid and move it to your nasal passages, where it drains.
INTERESTING FACTS: When you cry, your tear ducts cannot drain all the fluid, so it overflows. As you age, you produce an average of 40 percent fewer tears. –J.T.M.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group