Why do we have Apocrine and Sebaceous Glands?

Summary The secretions of sebaceous and apocrine glands fulfil an important thermoregulatory role in cold-stressed and heat-stressed hunter-gatherers. In hot conditions the secretions emulsify eccrine sweat and thus encourage the formation of a sweat sheet and discourage the formation and loss of sw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Royal Society of Medicine Vol. 94; no. 5; pp. 236 - 237
Main Author Porter, Alan M W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.05.2001
Royal Society of Medicine
Sage Publications Ltd
The Royal Society of Medicine
Subjects
Animals
Apocrine Glands - metabolism
Apocrine Glands - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Body Temperature Regulation - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Hypothesis
Sebaceous Glands - metabolism
Sebaceous Glands - physiology
Sebum - metabolism
Sebum - physiology
Sweat - physiology
Vertebrates: skin, associated glands, phaneres, light organs, various exocrine glands (salt gland, uropygial gland...), adipose tissue, connective tissue
Human
Apocrine gland
Thermoregulation
Skin
Physiology
Exocrine secretion
Sebaceous gland
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Summary:Summary The secretions of sebaceous and apocrine glands fulfil an important thermoregulatory role in cold-stressed and heat-stressed hunter-gatherers. In hot conditions the secretions emulsify eccrine sweat and thus encourage the formation of a sweat sheet and discourage the formation and loss of sweat drops from the skin. In colder conditions sebum changes its nature and repels rain from skin and hair.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0141-0768
1758-1095
DOI:10.1177/014107680109400509