Se-crē'tion, n.

n. [Lat. secretio, Fr. sécrétion, Sp. secrecion, It. secrezione. See supra.] 1. The act of secreting or secreting; especially, production from the general nourishing substance, of particular substances in the vital economy. ☞ “The general term secretion, . . . considered in its most general view, may be applied to every act by which substances of any kind are separated from the blood, but [it] is usually restricted to those cases in which the substances withdrawn are not destined either to be restored again to the circulating current (as in assimilation), or to form part of the textures of the living fabric (as in nutrition), and in which the separated product has a liquid, or, more rarely, a solid, form, and not a gaseous (as in respiration).” Carpenter. 2. The matter secreted, as mucus, perspirable matter, &c.