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Human Body Study

Sweat Glands

Coiled tubular glands in the dermis that produce sweat. Also called sudoriferous glands.

The skin and its appendages A cross-section of skin showing its three layers — epidermis, dermis and hypodermis — together with the hair, sebaceous glands and sweat glands that pass through them. A small inset shows a fingertip with its nail. Each label links to the article for that part. Nails Epidermis Hair Sebaceous glands Dermis Sweat glands Hypodermis Cross-section of skin and its appendages — schematic, not to scale.

Two types

Section titled “Two types”
  • Eccrine glands — found over most of the body; produce watery sweat for cooling. Open directly onto the skin surface. Active from birth.
  • Apocrine glands — in the armpits, groin, and around the nipples; produce a thicker, slightly oily secretion. Open into a hair follicle. Activate at puberty.

Where they are

Section titled “Where they are”
  • Eccrine — nearly everywhere on the body; densest on the palms, soles, and forehead.
  • Apocrine — restricted to the armpits, groin, and around the nipples.

What they do

Section titled “What they do”
  • Temperature control — evaporating eccrine sweat is the body’s main way of shedding heat.
  • Waste — excrete small amounts of salts and other substances.
  • Scent and social signaling — likely roles of apocrine secretion. It is nearly odorless on its own; body odor arises only when skin bacteria break it down. This is why armpit sweat smells but forehead sweat does not.

How they secrete

Section titled “How they secrete”
  • Eccrine — by merocrine secretion: vesicles release sweat without damaging the cell.
  • Apocrine — by apocrine secretion: the top of the cell pinches off with the secretion (the gland and the mechanism share a name).

Control

Section titled “Control”

Triggered by the sympathetic nervous system — by nerves, not hormones. Eccrine sweating responds to heat and exertion; apocrine glands respond to stress, emotion, and arousal.

Compared with sebaceous glands

Section titled “Compared with sebaceous glands”

Sweat glands produce water; sebaceous glands produce oil. Sweat output is fast, nerve-driven, and responsive to circumstance; sebaceous output is continuous and hormonally controlled.

Key idea

Section titled “Key idea”

Eccrine sweating is the body’s primary cooling system — a major reason humans tolerate heat and sustained exertion so well. Apocrine sweat is essentially a different organ, serving a different role.