LL2.H1.5 Skin Appendages: Sweat Glands
Skin Appendages: Sweat Glands:
- Eccrine sweat glands are simple coiled tubular glands which open at the skin surface
- They produce a watery secretion which plays an important role in thermoregulation
- The secretory part of the gland is located in the dermis and is coiled
- The duct is initially coiled, like the secretory portion of the gland, but then follows a relatively straight course towards the epidermis
- The duct ends at the junction of the epidermis and the dermis
- From there, the secretions reach the surface of the skin by passing through a spiral channel running between the cells of the epidermis
- Once released on the surface of the skin the sweat evaporates and cools the surface
- Eccrine sweat glands are widely distributed in the skin although they are absent from a few regions such as the glans penis
- The secretory part of the gland is located in the dermis and is coiled
- Eccrine sweat glands are innervated by the sympathetic nervous system
- The post ganglionic neurones which innervate eccrine sweat glands are cholinergic and not adrenergic as is usually found with this part of the nervous system
Diagram of Sweat Gland:
