Cowper’s gland /kou″pərz/ [William Cowper, English surgeon, 1666–1709] , either of two round, pea-sized tubular glands embedded in the urethral sphincter of the male beneath the bulb of the male urethra. Normally yellow, they consist of several lobes with ducts that join and form a single excretory duct, emptying mucus into the urethra. Also called bulbourethral gland. Compare Bartholin’s gland.