Origin

The character 腺 combines the flesh radical 月 on the left—which indicates this is a body part—with 泉 on the right, which means spring or fountain. The right component suggests something that flows or secretes, much like water from a spring. Together, these parts create an image of a body structure that produces and releases fluids, which is exactly what a gland does. This compound-ideographic formation captures both the physical nature of a gland as a body organ and its function of secreting substances.