What is the Scientific Term for Sweat Glands?
The scientific term for sweat glands is sudoriferous glands or sudoriparous glands. This comes from the Latin word sudor, meaning "sweat".
Humans have two main types of sweat glands:
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Eccrine sweat glands: These are the most common type, distributed widely across the body. They open directly onto the skin's surface and primarily regulate body temperature. As stated in the provided text from Mayo Clinic and StatPearls, "Eccrine sweat glands occur over most of the body and open directly onto the skin's surface."
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Apocrine sweat glands: These are located in areas with many hair follicles, such as the armpits, groin, and scalp. They open into the hair follicle and produce a thicker, oily sweat that contains pheromones. The Mayo Clinic and provided text explains that "Apocrine glands open into the hair follicle, leading to the surface of the skin. Apocrine glands develop in areas with many hair follicles, such as on the scalp, armpits and groin."
There is also a less common type:
- Apoeccrine glands: These glands share properties of both eccrine and apocrine glands. Information from the NCBI article on the physiology of sweat gland function mentions these glands, stating that "they are intermediate in size, but as the name suggests, apoeccrine glands share properties with both eccrine and apocrine glands."
Function of Sweat Glands
The primary function of sweat glands is thermoregulation (maintaining body temperature). Sweat evaporates from the skin, cooling the body. Additionally, apocrine sweat glands contribute to scent production. The Britannica article notes that "Sweat gland, either of two types of secretory skin glands occurring only in mammals. The eccrine sweat gland, which is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, produces a watery secretion that cools the body through evaporation."
