Sweat Gland

Aka: Sweat Gland, Merocrine Sweat Gland, Apocrine Sweat Gland, Eccrine Gland

1. Physiology: Thermoregulation (heat dissipation)
   1. Increased skin blood flow
   2. Increased sweating with evaporative cooling
2. Type: Merocrine Sweat Gland (Merocrine secretion)
   1. Make up majority of bodies Sweat Glands
      1. Most concentrated in palms and soles
   2. Coiled tubular gland secretes watery fluid
      1. Sweat composed mainly of hypotonic sodium chloride
      2. Released directly onto skin surface
   3. Innervatation
      1. Cholinergic fibers of sympathetic nervous system
   4. Stimulation of sweating
      1. Excessive body heat
      2. Fear
3. Type: Apocrine Sweat Gland (Apocrine Secretion)
   1. Similar to odiferous glands in mammals
   2. Sweat Glands in axilla and genital regions
      1. Not functional until Puberty
      2. Function fluctuates with Menstrual Cycle in women
   3. Viscous secretions released via Hair Follicles
      1. Milky fluid often with odor due to skin flora
   4. Innervation
      1. Adrenergic fibers of sympathetic nervous system
4. References
   1. Wheater (1987) Functional Histology, p. 130-2
   2. Murphy in Cotran (1989) Robbins Pathology, p. 1277-8