The lacrimal apparatus is the physiological system containing the orbital structures for tear production and drainage.
It consists of:
The lacrimal gland, which secretes the tears, and its excretory ducts, which convey the fluid to the surface of the human eye;
The lacrimal canaliculi, the lacrimal sac, and the nasolacrimal duct, by which the fluid is conveyed into the cavity of the nose, emptying anterioinferiorly to the inferior nasal conchae from the nasolacrimal duct;
The innervation of the lacrimal apparatus involves both the a sympathetic supply through the carotid plexus of nerves around the internal carotid artery, and parasympathetically from the lacrimal nucleus of the facial nerve.
