Tearing, or lacrimation, is a continuous and largely involuntary process stimulated by the autonomic nervous system. Fluid is secreted into the lacrimal lake, the area between the eyeball and the upper eyelid, and spread across the surface of the eye by blinking.
Tears serve to bathe and lubricate the cornea, the sensitive outer covering of the eyeball.
Typically, the fluid either evaporates or is drained off through tiny canals at the inner corner of the eye, but in times of excessive tearing the apparatus is overwhelmed and tears overflow the eyes. Listing from Electric Library , a pay service. Copyright 2001 Infonautics Corporation . All rights reserved. Life of a butterfly.