prothoracic glands

ec·dys·i·al glands

insect structures that originate from the ectoderm of the ventrocaudal part of the head and serve as a source of ecdysone. Synonym(s): peritracheal glands, prothoracic glands, thoracic glands, ventral glands

prothoracic glands

the glands in an insect activated by a hormone from the neurosecretory cells in the brain that secrete the MOULTING HORMONE ecdysone. The glands have a cyclic activity within each INSTAR and break down on METAMORPHOSIS. They induce moulting, which in most insects occurs only in the juvenile stage, and in the absence of JUVENILE HORMONE stimulate metamorphosis.