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 ... |
What part of the body have the most sweat glands?
- Basic structure
- Eccrine sweat glands Characteristics Secretory portion Secretory coil Duct portion Organelles
- Apocrine sweat glands Characteristics Secretory portion Excretory portion
- Clinical notes
- Sources
What part of your body has the most sweat glands?
The following suggestions may help you cope with sweating and body odor:
- Use antiperspirant. ...
- Apply astringents. ...
- Bathe daily. ...
- Choose shoes and socks made of natural materials. ...
- Change your socks often. ...
- Use over-the-counter foot powders to help absorb sweat.
- Air your feet. ...
- Choose clothing to suit your activity. ...
- Try relaxation techniques. ...
What stimulates sweat glands?
What stimulates sweat glands? When the body temperature rises, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the eccrine sweat glands to secrete water to the skin surface, where it cools the body by evaporation.
What are the two general types of glands?
Glands fall into two different categories: endocrine and exocrine. Both perform different functions. Endocrine glands release hormones into the blood stream, and regulate things like metabolism ...
What type of gland are sweat glands endocrine or exocrine?
exocrine glandsMany organs in your body use exocrine glands to function properly. Examples of exocrine glands include: Sweat glands: Your sweat glands create and secrete sweat. A type of sweat gland called eccrine sweat glands covers almost your entire body surface.
Is a sweat gland A Holocrine gland?
Sebaceous glands are holocrine glands, and sweat glands (both eccrine and apocrine ones) are merocrine glands.
Are sweat glands apocrine?
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 structure is a type of sweat gland?
Eccrine sweat glands are simple, coiled, tubular glands present throughout the body, most numerously on the soles of the feet. Thin skin covers most of the body and contains sweat glands, in addition to hair follicles, hair arrector muscles, and sebaceous glands.
Are sweat glands apocrine or merocrine?
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.
Are sweat glands merocrine?
The ducts open out onto epidermal ridges at a sweat pore. They can be further classified as merocrine (eccrine) glands. They secrete a watery fluid which is hypotonic to plasma its evaporation is important for thermoregulation. Sweat contains water, sodium, potassium, chloride, urea ammonia and lactic acid.
What is eccrine and apocrine?
Your skin has two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of your skin. Apocrine glands open into the hair follicle, leading to the surface of the skin.
What are holocrine glands?
Definition. noun, plural: holocrine glands. A gland releasing a secretion consisting of disintegrated cells and their secretory products into the lumen. Supplement.
What is an example of a Merocrine gland?
An example of merocrine secretion is the eccrine sweat gland. Apocrine glands, in contrast, form buds of the membrane which break off into the duct, losing part of the cellular membrane in the process.
What glands are known as sweat glands quizlet?
Sweat glands, also known as sudoriferous or sudoriparous glands, from Latin sudor, meaning "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.
Is sweat gland a tissue?
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.
Which type of sweat glands are most common?
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 hormones stimulate sweating?
Emotional sweating is stimulated by stress, anxiety, fear, and pain; it is independent of ambient temperature. Acetylcholine acts on the eccrine glands and adrenaline acts on both eccrine and apocrine glands to produce sweat. Emotional sweating can occur anywhere, though it is most evident on the palms, soles of the feet, and axillary regions. Sweating on the palms and soles is thought to have evolved as a fleeing reaction in mammals: it increases friction and prevents slipping when running or climbing in stressful situations.
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.
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 is the function of sweat glands?
Sweat glands are used to regulate temperature and remove waste by secreting water, sodium salts, and nitrogenous waste (such as urea) on to 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.
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 the apocrine glands located?
Main article: Apocrine sweat gland. Apocrine sweat glands are found in the armpit, areola (around the nipples), perineum (between the anus and genitals), in the ear, and the eyelids. The secretory portion is larger than that of eccrine glands (making them larger overall).
Which glands are directly controlled by the hypothalamus?
Both eccrine and apocrine sweat glands participate in thermoregulatory sweating, which is directly controlled by the hypothalamus. Thermal sweating is stimulated by a combination of internal body temperature and mean skin temperature. In eccrine sweat glands, stimulation occurs via activation by acetylcholine, which binds to the gland's muscarinic receptors.
What are sweat glands?
human skin: Sweat glands. Sweat gland s are coiled tubes of epidermal origin, though they lie in the dermis. Their secretory cells surround a central space, or lumen, into which the secretion is extruded. There are two distinct types: eccrine glands open by a duct directly onto the…. human nervous system: Sympathetic ganglia.
What causes sweat glands to contract?
Apocrine sweat glands, which are usually associated with hair follicles, continuously secrete a fatty sweat into the gland tubule. Emotional stress causes the tubule wall to contract, expelling the fatty secretion to the skin, where local bacteria break it down into odorous fatty acids.
What glands secrete water to the skin surface?
When internal temperature rises, the eccrine glands secrete water to the skin surface, where heat is removed by evaporation. If eccrine glands are active over most of the body (as in horses, bears, and humans), they are major thermoregulatory devices.
Where are sweat glands located?
human skin: Sweat glands. Sweat gland s are coiled tubes of epidermal origin, though they lie in the dermis. Their secretory cells surround a central... The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content.
Which glands are controlled by the nervous system?
…muscles attached to hairs, and sweat glands.…. …is made available from the sweat glands. The activity of the sweat glands is controlled by the nervous system under direction of the temperature-regulating centre.
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
How much sweat does the eccrine gland produce?
Under maximal stimulation, the body can produce 3 liters of eccrine sweat per hour.
What gland produces oily fluid?
In contrast, apocrine glands produce an oily fluid rich in triglycerides and fatty acids – subsequent colonization by anaerobic bacteria results in body odor. Both eccrine and apocrine sweat glands originate from the epidermis 4).
What are the epidermal adnexal structures?
Eccrine and apocrine sweat glands, hair follicles and sebaceous glands (which produce sebum) are often referred to as epidermal adnexal structures. Thin skin covers most of the body and contains sweat glands, in addition to hair follicles, hair arrector muscles, and sebaceous glands.
Why do apocrine glands sweat?
Because apocrine sweat glands respond to norepinephrine, they are involved in emotional sweating due to stress, fear, pain, and sexual stimulation. Apocrine sweat glands are larger than eccrine glands, with a 10-fold greater diameter 8).
What are the two types of sweat glands?
Your skin has two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine sweat glands. They differ in embryology, distribution, and function. Eccrine sweat glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of your skin. Apocrine glands open into the hair follicle, leading to the surface of the skin.
Why do sweat glands not open?
On the other hand, apocrine sweat glands do not function until hormonal stimulation during puberty, and their ducts do not open onto the skin surface. This is because these glands originate from the stratum germinativum of the epidermis. Therefore, down-growth does not produce a duct open to the skin surface.
How does sweat regulate body temperature?
Eccrine sweat glands play an important role in the regulation of your body temperature via evaporative heat loss 2). When the internal temperature of your body rises, eccrine sweat glands release water (sweat) to the skin surface. There, it quickly evaporates, subsequently cooling the skin and blood beneath.
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.