Eccrine sweat glands
Encyclopedia
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
and NaCl (note that the odor from sweat is due to bacterial activity on the secretions of the apocrine glands). NaCl is reabsorbed in the duct to reduce salt loss . They are active in thermoregulation
Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different...
, which is controlled by the hypothalamus
Hypothalamus
The Hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions...
.
Eccrine glands are composed of (1) an intreaepidermal spiral duct, the "acrosyringium," (2) a straight dermal portion, and (3) a coiled acinar (grape-like) portion in the dermis
Dermis
The dermis is a layer of skin between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissues, and is composed of two layers, the papillary and reticular dermis...
or hypodermis
Hypodermis
The hypodermis, also called the hypoderm, subcutaneous tissue, or superficial fascia is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. Types of cells that are found in the hypodermis are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and macrophages...
. Innervation is by the sympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system is one of the three parts of the autonomic nervous system, along with the enteric and parasympathetic systems. Its general action is to mobilize the body's nervous system fight-or-flight response...
(primarily by cholinergic
Cholinergic
The word choline generally refers to the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium cation. Found in most animal tissues, choline is a primary component of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and functions with inositol as a basic constituent of lecithin...
fibers, but also by adrenergic
Adrenergic
An adrenergic agent is a drug, or other substance, which has effects similar to, or the same as, epinephrine . Thus, it is a kind of sympathomimetic agent...
fibers).