Terminology Service for NFDI4Health
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apocrine sweat gland

Go to external page http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0000382

Apocrine sweat glands are sweat glands composed of a coiled secretory portion located at the junction of the dermis and subcutaneous fat, from which a straight portion inserts and secretes into the infundibular portion of the hair follicle. The ducts of apocrine glands open into the canals of hair follicles. The stimulus for the secretion of apocrine sweat glands is adrenaline, which is a hormone carried in the blood[WP]. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrine_sweat_gland ]

Term info

Label

apocrine sweat gland

Synonyms
  • glandula sudorifera apocrina
database cross reference
Subsets

pheno_slim, organ_slim

curator note

A note of confusion is the difference between apocrine secretion and apocrine sweat gland. Apocrine secretion refers to the apical loss of a cell's membrane to create cell blebs, thus creating a secretory product. Apocrine sweat gland refers to a structure, not a secretion process. Apocrine sweat glands actually use a merocrine type secretion, or that mediated by exocytosis of secretory granules. When 'apocrine gland' is used without the word sweat, it is often referring to the gland which uses merocrine secretion, and not the secretion method. The important difference in apocrine sweat gland structure is its larger lumen, compared to the more narrow lumen of the eccrine sweat gland.

id

UBERON:0000382

taxon notes

In humans, apocrine sweat glands are found only in certain locations of the body: the axillae (armpits), the areola of the nipples, and the genitoanal region.

Term relations