apocrine sweat gland

Examples of apocrine sweat gland in the following topics:

• Excretion and Absorption

  • Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands.
  • They produce a clear, odorless substance consisting primarily of water and NaCl (note that the odor from sweat is due to bacterial activity on the secretions of the apocrine glands).
  • Apocrine sweat glands are inactive until they are stimulated by hormonal changes in puberty.
  • Apocrine sweat glands are mainly thought to function as olfactory pheromones, chemicals important in attracting a potential mate.
  • The stimulus for the secretion of apocrine sweat glands is adrenaline, which is a hormone carried in the blood.

• Sweat (Sudoriferous) Glands

  • Each sweat gland is made up of two portions:
  • The other kind of sweat glands are known as apocrine glands. 
  • The apocrine glands are found in places like the armpits, scrotum, anus, and labia majora. 
  • Unlike eccrine glands, the exact function of apocrine glands is unknown and debated. 
  • Cross sectional image of skin showing a sweat gland and a sebaceous gland.

• Skin and Mucosae (Surface Barriers)

  • The epidermis also helps the skin regulate body temperature through sweat pores that connect to underlying sweat glands in the dermis.
  • It also contains the hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, apocrine glands, lymphatic vessels, and blood vessels.
  • In the stomach it is simple columnar, and is organised into gastric pits and glands to secrete acids and pepsin.

• Structure of the Skin: Dermis

  • The reticular layer also contains hair follicles, sweat glands, and sebaceous glands.
  • The sweat gland can either be apocrine, such as those found in the armpits and the groin area, or the eccrine glands, which are found all over the body.
  • The sebaceous glands found in the dermis secrete a substance called sebum that helps to lubricate and protect our skin from drying out.

• Glandular Epithelia

  • There are two major classifications of glands: endocrine glands and exocrine glands.
  • Examples of exocrine glands include the sweat glands, salivary glands, mammary glands, the pancreas, and the liver.
  • An endocrine gland is its counterpart.
  • Examples of endocrine glands include the adrenal glands, located atop the kidneys and responsible for the secretion of certain hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol, and others.
  • The sebaceous glands are microscopic glands in the skin that secrete an oily/waxy matter, called sebum, to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair of mammals.

• Overview of the Endocrine System

  • The endocrine system is a system of ductless glands that secrete hormones, which are chemical messengers that act at a distance.
  • For example the pineal gland, located at the base of the brain, secretes the hormone melatonin, responsible for regulating sleep patterns.
  • The endocrine system is in contrast to the exocrine system which features ducted glands which secrete substances onto an epithelial surface for example a sweat gland.
  • The major endocrine glands include the pituitary, pineal, ovaries, testes, thyroid, hypothalamus and adrenal glands, additionally other tissues such as the kidney and liver also display secondary adrenal functions.
  • The endocrine systems found in the head and neck include the hypothalamus, pineal, pituitary and thyroid glands.

• Development of the Integumentary System

  • The integument also includes appendages, primarily the sweat and sebaceous glands, hair, nails and arrectores pillorum (tiny muscles at the root of each hair that cause goose bumps).
  • Other regions of the ectoderm form into epithelial columns called cords which will become hair follocles and sebaceous and sweat glands.
  • At 20 weeks gestation, hair begins to grow from sebaceous glands, while sweat glands are formed from coiled cords.
  • Other cords begin to form mammary glands.

• Impacted Cerumen

  • It is a mixture of viscous secretions from sebaceous glands and less-viscous ones from modified apocrine glands.

• Development of the Endocrine System

  • The thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body.
  • This condition produces symptoms such as an abnormally high body temperature, profuse sweating, high blood pressure, loss of weight, irritability, and muscular pain and weakness.
  • Pineal gland 2.
  • Thyroid gland 4.
  • Adrenal gland 6.

• Waste Management in Other Body Systems

  • Skin has sweat glands which secrete a fluid waste called perspiration.
  • Perspiration, or sweat, is a fluid consisting primarily of water, as well as various dissolved solid wastes, that is excreted by the sweat glands.
  • Most notable the sweat glands remove a bit of excess water and salts, and also serve the function of cooling the body during thermoregulation.