
Key facts about the sweat glandsTable quiz
Definition | Exocrine glands that produce sweat, loca ... |
Types | Eccrine glands Apocrine glands |
Eccrine glands | Simple coiled glands whose watery excret ... |
Apocrine glands | Simple tubular glands whose excretion co ... |
Do different types of sweat have different health benefits?
What are the different types of sweat?
- Direct Heat or Physical Activity Sweating. When this happens, your skin gets warmer in reaction to the effort you’re putting in or the sunshine you’re bathing in. ...
- Emotional Sweating. This response can happen when you’re scared or overwhelmed or you experience a surge of feelings. ...
- Night Sweats. ...
- Hot Flashes. ...
What glands are known as sweat glands?
Secretory segment
- The clear cells contain large amounts of glycogen, numerous smooth endoplasmic reticula and mitochondria, as well as a small Golgi apparatus. ...
- The dark cells contain numerous rough endoplasmic reticula and a well-developed Golgi apparatus. ...
- The myoepithelial cells are contractile cells, usually dispersed between the clear and dark cells. ...
What kind of glands are sebaceous and sweat glands?
Your exocrine glands include:
- salivary.
- sweat.
- mammary.
- sebaceous.
- lacrimal.
Which sweat gland smell bad?
Why Do I Have Body Odor?
- Causes of Body Odor. Sweat itself doesn't have a smell. ...
- Risk Factors. Being overweight: Skin folds can hold sweat and bacteria, making a more hospitable home for body odor.
- Tips for Reducing Body Odor. ...
- Medical Treatments for Body Odor. ...
- A Word From Verywell. ...

What are the 3 sweat glands?
Humans have three different types of sweat glands: eccrine, apocrine, and apoeccrine.
How many sweat glands do we have?
Humans have ~2–4 million eccrine sweat glands in total and are found on both glabrous (palms, soles) and non-glabrous (hairy) skin [13–15].
What is the most common sweat gland?
The majority of them are “eccrine” sweat glands, which are found in large numbers on the soles of the feet, the palms, the forehead and cheeks, and in the armpits. Eccrine glands secrete an odorless, clear fluid that helps the body to control its temperature by promoting heat loss through evaporation.
What are the two types of sweat glands and what do they secrete?
There are two types of sweat glands: Eccrine glands are found all over the body and secrete a watery product that cools the skin. Apocrine sweat glands are mainly found in the armpits and perianal area, and secrete a more viscous, odorous product.
Which sweat glands produce body odor?
There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Apocrine glands are responsible for producing body odor.
Do nipples have sweat glands?
In humans, apocrine sweat glands are found only in certain locations of the body: the axillae (armpits), areola and nipples of the breast, ear canal, eyelids, wings of the nostril, perineal region, and some parts of the external genitalia.
What is the difference between Merocrine and apocrine sweat glands?
Apocrine sweat glands are found associated with hair follicles and only become active at puberty. Merocrine sweat glands are found throughout the skin and produce a watery sweat from birth.
What part of your body sweats the most?
feetInterestingly, feet are usually the sweatiest part of the human body because each foot has approximately 250,000 sweat glands. They can produce up to half a litre of perspiration per day. Plus, they spend a lot of time wrapped in shoes and socks, increasing the amount of sweat they excrete.
What is apocrine sweat?
Apocrine glands in the skin and eyelid are sweat glands. Most apocrine glands in the skin are in the armpits, the groin, and the area around the nipples of the breast. Apocrine glands in the skin are scent glands, and their secretions usually have an odor.
What are the functions of the sweat glands?
Sweat glands occur all over the body, but are most numerous on the forehead, the armpits, the palms and the soles of the feet. Sweat is mainly water, but it also contains some salts. Its main function is to control body temperature. As the water in the sweat evaporates, the surface of the skin cools.
What is the difference between eccrine and apocrine sweat glands quizlet?
Both types of glands secrete onto the body surface. Eccrine glands cool the body; apocrine glands function as scent glands.
How many sweat glands do we have in the armpit?
Since humans are born with two to four million sweat glands and our underarms contain only approximately two percent of them, miraDry® does not prohibit the body from being able to safely cool itself. You will continue to sweat normally in other areas of the body.
What part of your body sweats the most?
feetInterestingly, feet are usually the sweatiest part of the human body because each foot has approximately 250,000 sweat glands. They can produce up to half a litre of perspiration per day. Plus, they spend a lot of time wrapped in shoes and socks, increasing the amount of sweat they excrete.
Can you have your sweat glands removed?
How it works: A dermatologist can surgically remove sweat glands from the underarms. This surgery can be performed in a dermatologist's office. Only the area to be treated is numbed, so the patient remains awake during the surgery.
Why do sweat glands get blocked?
It happens when the shafts where hair grows out of your skin, called follicles, get blocked. There's no cure for the condition, but treatments can make flares happen less often. A healthy lifestyle can help a lot, too.
What part of the body doesn't sweat?
The human body has approximately 2 - 4 million sweat glands found all over the body, except on the nails, ears and lips.
What are sweat glands?
Sweat glands, also known as sudoriferous or sudoriparous glands, from Latin sudor 'sweat', are small tubular structures of the skin that produce sweat. Sweat glands are a type of exocrine gland, which are glands that produce and secrete substances onto an epithelial surface by way of a duct. There are two main types of sweat glands that differ in their structure, function, secretory product, mechanism of excretion, anatomic distribution, and distribution across species: 1 Eccrine sweat glands are distributed almost all over the human body, in varying densities, with the highest density in palms and soles, then on the head, but much less on the trunk and the extremities. Its water-based secretion represents a primary form of cooling in humans. 2 Apocrine sweat glands are mostly limited to the axillae (armpits) and perineal area in humans. They are not significant for cooling in humans, but are the sole effective sweat glands in hoofed animals, such as the camels, donkeys, horses, and cattle.
What is the name of the gland that produces sweat?
Anatomical terminology. Sweat glands, also known as sudoriferous or sudoriparous glands, from Latin sudor 'sweat', are small tubular structures of the skin that produce sweat. Sweat glands are a type of exocrine gland, which are glands that produce and secrete substances onto an epithelial surface by way of a duct.
How does sweating work in the apocrine gland?
Both apocrine and eccrine sweat glands use merocrine secretion, where vesicles in the gland released sweat via exocytosis, leaving the entire cell intact. It was originally thought that apocrine sweat glands use apocrine secretion due to histological artifacts resembling "blebs" on the cell surface, however, recent electron micrographs indicate that the cells use merocrine secretion. In both apocrine and eccrine sweat glands, the sweat is originally produced in the gland's coil, where it is isotonic with the blood plasma there. When the rate of sweating is low, salt is conserved and reabsorbed by the gland's duct; high sweat rates, on the other hand, lead to less salt reabsorption and allow more water to evaporate on the skin (via osmosis) to increase evaporative cooling.
Why do apocrine sweat glands have a odor?
The substance secreted is thicker than eccrine sweat and provides nutrients for bacteria on the skin: the bacteria's decomposition of sweat is what creates the acrid odor. Apocrine sweat glands are most active in times of stress and sexual excitement.
How many sweat glands are there in the palm?
According to Henry Gray 's estimates, the palm has around 370 sweat glands per cm 2; the back of the hand has 200 per cm 2; the forehead has 175 per cm 2; the breast, abdomen, and forearm have 155 per cm 2; and the back and legs have 60–80 per cm 2.
What gives sweat a salty taste?
The presence of sodium chloride gives sweat a salty taste. The total volume of sweat produced depends on the number of functional glands and the size of the surface opening. The degree of secretory activity is regulated by neural and hormonal mechanisms (men sweat more than women).
Where are sweat glands located on the finger?
In the finger pads, sweat glands pores are somewhat irregularly spaced on the epidermal ridges. There are no pores between the ridges, though sweat tends to spill into them. The thick epidermis of the palms and soles causes the sweat glands to become spirally coiled.
What are the three types of sweat glands?
Sweat glands are coiled tubular structures vital for regulating human body temperature. Humans have three different types of sweat glands: eccrine, apocrine, and apoeccrine. Eccrine sweat glands are abundantly distributed all over the skin and mainly secrete water and electrolytes through the surface of the skin. Apocrine glands secrete oily substances containing lipids, proteins, and steroids through hair canals and are found only in skin containing hair (restricted to the armpits, mammary, anal, and genital areas) [189,190]. Rather than responding to temperature, apocrine glands often respond to emotional stimuli including anxiety and fear. Under these circumstances, sweating is often observed in the armpits, palms, and soles of the feet [191–193]. For decades it was believed that these are the only two types of sweat glands. In 1987, however, apoeccrine glands were identified in areas of apocrine glands but secreted watery fluids similar to eccrine glands [194]. Unlike humans, animals such as dogs and mice have sweat glands only in their paws because they have evolved a different method of thermoregulation, namely panting. In these animals, sweat glands are present in the paws to provide friction for running and climbing. For the purposes of this chapter, we focus only on eccrine sweat glands, referring to them hereafter as “sweat glands.”
What are the cells that make up sweat glands?
This acinar secretory coil contains a basal layer composed of two distinct cell types, clear cells and myoepithelial cells , as well as a luminal layer composed of dark cells [5] ( Figure 4 ). These dark cells secrete glycoproteins that can be identified with periodic acid Schiff (PAS) staining. In the basal layer, clear cells are rich in mitochondria and contain basolateral infoldings where water and ions are secreted. This sweat subsequently travels through small intercellular canals to reach the lumen and through the sweat duct to be secreted at the skin surface [5]. Myoepithelial cells are located at the periphery of sweat glands and are believed to provide support for the sweat gland structure ( Figure 4 ).
How many sweat glands are there in the human body?
In humans, roughly 1.6 to 5 million sweat glands are found in the skin, and the amount varies between individuals as well as anatomic sites [195]. The region with greatest sweat gland density is the palms and soles of the feet, which contain 600–700 sweat glands/cm 2 [195].
What is the function of sweat glands?
The primary function of sweat glands is to keep the core body temperature at approximately 37 °C by releasing sweat in a hot environment or during physical activity [189,195]. Sweat glands are innervated by neurons, so the process of sweating is controlled by the central nervous system.
Why is sweat important to the body?
When an increase in temperature is detected, sweat is induced to cool the skin, and internal body temperature decreases when the sweat evaporates from the surface of the skin. Therefore, sweat glands are essential in keeping the body temperature constant.
Why do animals have sweat glands?
Unlike humans, animals such as dogs and mice have sweat glands only in their paws because they have evolved a different method of thermoregulation, namely panting. In these animals, sweat glands are present in the paws to provide friction for running and climbing.
When do sweat glands develop?
They develop over most of the human body at approximately 5 months of fetal gestation in human and in mouse, sweat buds emerge just before birth (embryonic day E17.5).

Overview
Sweat glands, also known as sudoriferous or sudoriparous glands, from Latin sudor 'sweat', are small tubular structures of the skin that produce sweat. Sweat glands are a type of exocrine gland, which are glands that produce and secrete substances onto an epithelial surface by way of a duct. There are two main types of sweat glands that differ in their structure, function, secretory product, mechanism of excretion, anatomic distribution, and distribution across species:
Structure
Generally, sweat glands consist of a secretory unit consisting of a base rolled into a glomerulum, and a duct that carries the sweat away. The secretory coil or base, is set deep in the lower dermis and hypodermis, and the entire gland is surrounded by adipose tissue. In both sweat gland types, the secretory coils are surrounded by contractile myoepithelial cells that function to facilitate excretion of secretory product. The secretory activities of the gland cells and the contractions of myoepithelial …
Distribution
The number of active sweat glands varies greatly among different people, though comparisons between different areas (ex. axillae vs. groin) show the same directional changes (certain areas always have more active sweat glands while others always have fewer). According to Henry Gray's estimates, the palm has around 370 sweat glands per cm ; the back of the hand has 200 per cm ; the forehead has 175 per cm ; the breast, abdomen, and forearm have 155 per cm ; and the bac…
Types
Eccrine sweat glands are everywhere except the lips, ear canal, prepuce, glans penis, labia minora, and clitoris. They are ten times smaller than apocrine sweat glands, do not extend as deeply into the dermis, and excrete directly onto the surface of the skin. The proportion of eccrine glands decreases with age.
The clear secretion produced by eccrine sweat glands is termed sweat or sensible perspiration. S…
Sweat
Sweat glands are used to regulate temperature and remove waste by secreting water, sodium salts, and nitrogenous waste (such as urea) onto the skin surface. The main electrolytes of sweat are sodium and chloride, though the amount is small enough to make sweat hypotonic at the skin surface. Eccrine sweat is clear, odorless, and is composed of 98–99% water; it also contains NaCl, fatty acids, lactic acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid, urea, and uric acid. Its pH ranges from 4 to 6.8. On …
Pathology
Some diseases of the sweat glands include:
Fox-Fordyce disease The apocrine sweat glands become inflamed, causing a persistent, itchy rash, usually in the axillae and pubic areas. Frey's Syndrome If the auriculotemporal nerve is damaged (most often as a result of a Parotidectomy), excess sweat can be produced in the rear of the cheek area (just below the ear) in response to stimuli that cause salivation. Heatstroke W…
See also
• Sudomotor
Notes
1. ^ Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology (2008). Terminologia histologica: international terms for human cytology and histology. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 121. ISBN 9780781775373.
2. ^ Gray, Henry (1918). "The Organs of the Senses and the Common Integument". Anatomy of the Human Body (20th ed.). Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.