腺

An organ that secretes bodily fluids, produces and releases secretions such as sweat, saliva, or hormones.

In modern scientific terminology, 腺 denotes both exocrine glands (외분비샘) — such as sweat or salivary glands — and endocrine glands (내분비샘) — such as thyroid or adrenal glands.

Thus, 腺 means literally “a bodily source of secretion.”

A phono-semantic compound, composed of:

肉(月) — semantic component, indicating relation to the body or flesh.

泉 (샘 천) — phonetic component, meaning “spring, source,” and providing the sound seon/xian.

The character originally represented a spring-like source within the body — that which emits or exudes fluids.

In Kangxi dictionary (康熙字典):

「腺，泉液所出也。从肉，泉聲。」

“腺 refers to the source of bodily fluids; composed of 肉 (‘flesh’) and 泉 (‘spring,’ phonetic).”

All East Asian languages preserve the same scientific sense of “gland,” derived from 19th–20th century anatomical translation traditions.

腺體 (선체) — glandular organ

腺炎 (선염) — inflammation of a gland

唾腺 (타선) — salivary gland

汗腺 (한선) — sweat gland

유선 (乳腺) — mammary gland

분비선 (分泌腺) — secretory gland

내분비선 (內分泌腺) — endocrine gland

외분비선 (外分泌腺) — exocrine gland

Example (modern medical context):

「汗腺은 체온 조절을 담당하는 대표적인 외분비샘이다。」

“Sweat glands are the primary exocrine glands responsible for regulating body temperature.”

While 腺 is a relatively modern technical term, its formation draws on ancient imagery of the spring (泉) — a source that flows naturally and continuously.

By analogy, the body’s 腺 was conceived as an inner spring of life-fluid, echoing the cosmological metaphor in Chinese medicine where fluids (津液) correspond to the water element (水) within the five phases (五行).

In traditional medical philosophy, these inner “springs” sustain vital essence (精) and maintain balance (陰陽調和) — a concept that influenced how later translators coined modern biomedical terms using 腺.

It represents the concept of a spring within the body, from which essential fluids or hormones flow.

The combination of flesh and spring embodies the classical unity of body and nature, portraying physiology as part of the natural rhythm of life.