Main Entry: demilune of Hei·den·hain Pronunciation: -'hId-&n-"hIn Function: noun :DEMILUNE Heidenhain,Rudolf Peter Heinrich(1834–1897), German histologist and physiologist.Heidenhain concentrated on the study of glandular secretions. His areas of study included the salivary glands, pancreas, breast, and stomach. He formulated a law of glandular secretion, which statesthat secretion always involves a change in the structure of the gland. He considered all secretory phenomena to be intracellular processes. Heidenhain is also known for his descriptions of the columnarcells of the uriniferous tubules (1861), of certain large border cells of the gastric glands (1870), and the crescentic cells or demilunes of the mucous glands.
