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The Sweat Gland
The average person has 2.6 million sweat glands in their skin. Sweat glands are distributed over the entire body -- except for the lips, nipples and external genital organs. The sweat gland is in the layer of skin called the dermis along with other "equipment," such as nerve endings, hair follicles and so on. Figure 1 illustrates what's going on:


Figure 1

Basically, the sweat gland is a long, coiled, hollow tube of cells. The coiled part in the dermis is where sweat is produced, and the long portion is a duct that connects the gland to the opening or pore on the skin's outer surface. Nerve cells from the sympathetic nervous system connect to the sweat glands. There are two types of sweat glands:

Eccrine - the most numerous type that are found all over the body, particularly on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and forehead
Apocrine - mostly confined to the armpits (axilla) and the anal-genital area. They typically end in hair follicles rather than pores.

The two glands differ in size, the age that they become active and the composition of the sweat that they make. Compared to apocrine glands, eccrine glands:

are smaller
are active from birth (Apocrine glands become active only at puberty)
produce a sweat that is free of proteins and fatty acids

Fun Fact
Did you know that the lining of your outer ear has modified apocrine glands called ceruminous glands? These modified sweat glands produce ear wax. Ear wax is thought to prevent foreign material from entering your ears, including insects.

Chromhidrosis is apocrine in origin. Although apocrine glands are found in the genital, axillary, areolar, and facial skin, chromhidrosis is reported only on the face, axillae, and breast areola. Lipofuscin pigment is responsible for the colored sweat. This pigment is produced in the apocrine gland, and its various oxidative states account for the characteristic yellow, green, blue, or black secretions observed in apocrine chromhidrosis.

In contrast, eccrine chromhidrosis is rare and occurs with ingestion of certain dyes or drugs, and pseudochromhidrosis occurs when clear eccrine sweat becomes colored on the surface of the skin as a result of extrinsic dyes, paints, or chromogenic bacteria.

More about coloured sweat

 
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