Abstract.The present study investigated the influence of age and gender on the number of IgA‐ and IgM‐containing cells in the lacrimal gland. Tissues were obtained from male and female rats at 0.2 (infant), 0.6 (pre‐pubertal), 1.3 (pubertal), 3 (adult), 8 (mid‐life) and 17 (senescent) months of age, then processed for immunofluorescence microscopy. No IgA‐containing cells could be detected in lacrimal glands from infant rats, but a significant accumulation had occurred by 0.6 months of age. The extent of this increase was gender‐dependent: tissues from male rats had significantly higher IgA‐positive cell densities than those of females. After 0.6 months of age, no further variations in the density of IgA‐containing lymphocytes were observed in female gland. In contrast, male glands exhibited marked fluctuations in the density of IgA‐containing lymphocytes during the time period spanning puberty (0.6 → 3 months). Of interest, the frequency distibution of IgA‐containing cells in tissue sections was not uniform in rats older than 0.2 months. Correction of cell densities for age‐related elevations in lacrimal gland weight demonstrated that the total accumulation of IgA‐containing cells was both age‐ and gender‐related. Highest cell numbers were attained at 3 months in females and 3 and 17 months in males. Moreover, at all assessed ages, the total IgA‐containing cell number in glands of males was greater than, or equal to, that in tissues of females. In contrast to the IgA‐positive cell profile, no age‐ or gender‐associated differences were apparent in the number of IgM‐containing cells in the lacrimal gland. These findings demonstrate that both age and gender exert a significant impact on the population of IgA‐, but not