Summary
The apocrine sweat glands of cat and monkey have been studied by light and electron microscopy. The apocrine secretory cells of the cat are columnar cells with prominent apical cytoplasmic caps extending into the gland lumen beyond the zone of terminal bars (zonulae occludentes). Many secretory vacuoles are present in the cytoplasm, and they contain acid mucopolysaccharide demonstrable by light microscopy. These secretory vacuoles arise from prosecretory vacuoles in the region of the Golgi apparatus and are liberated from the apical cell surface as in other merocrine cells. The apocrine duct is short and the cells have scant mitochondria. The apocrine secretory cells of the monkey have secretory vacuoles similar to those of the cat but are fewer in number. The monkey apocrine cells also contain unidentified bodies similar to those seen in Langerhans cells of the epidermis. These cells liberate secretory vacuoles in a merocrine manner. “Apocrine” or “decapitation secretion” is regarded as an artifact.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aoki, T.: Stimulation of the sweat glands in the hairy skin of the dog by adrenalin, noradrenalin, acetyloholine, mecholyl and pilocarpine. J. invest. Derm. 24, 545–555 (1955).
Bargmann, W., K. Fleischhauer u. A. Knoop: Über die Morphologie der Milchsekretion. II. Zugleich eine Kritik am Schema der Sekretionsmorphologie. Z. Zellforsch. 53, 545–568 (1961).
Bauer, W.C.: Personal communication.
Birbeck, M.S., A.S. Breathnach, and J.D. Everall: An electron microscope study of basal melanocytes and highlevel clear cells (Langerhans cells) in vitiligo. J. invest. Derm. 37, 51–64 (1961).
Breathnach, A.S.: Observations on cytoplasmic organelles in Langerhans cells of human epidermis. J. Anat. (Lond.) 98, 265–270 (1964).
—, M.S.C. Birbeck, and J.D. Everall: Observations bearing on the relationship between Langerhans cells and melanocytes. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 100, 223–238 (1963).
Caramia, F.: Ultrastructure of mouse submaxillary glands I. Sexual differences and II. Effect of Castration in the mole. (Subm. for publ.).
Charles, A.: An electron microscopic study of the human axillary apocrine gland. J. Anat. (Lond.) 93, 226–232 (1959).
Dalton, A.J.: A chrome osmium fixative for electron microscopy. Anat. Rec. 121, 281 (1955).
Ellis, R.A.: The fine structure of palmar eccrine sweat glands of Macaca mulatta, Anat. Rec. 136, 187 (1960).
—, and W. Montagna: The sweat glands of the Lorisidae. In: Evolutionary and Genetic Biology of Primates (J. Buettner-Janusch, ed.), p. 197–228. New York: Academic Press 1963.
Farquhar, M.G., and G.E. Palade: Junctional complexes in various epithelia. J. Cell Biol. 17, 375–412 (1963).
Florey, H.W.: Electron microscopic observations on goblet cells of the rat colon. Quart. J. exp. Physiol. 45, 329–336 (1960).
Hollmann, K.H.: L'ultrastructure de la glande mammaire normale de la souris en lactation. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 2, 423–443 (1959).
Hurley, H.S., and W.B. Shelley: The human apocrine sweat gland in health and disease. Springfield: Ch.C.Thomas 1960.
Ihjima, S., and T. Oono: Cytological studies of gll. vestibulares nasi of the cat after adrenalin injection. Okajimas Folia anat. jap. 31, 325–332 (1958).
Kurosumi, K.: Electron microscopic analysis of the secretion mechanism. Int. Rev. Cytol. 11, 1–124 (1961).
—, T. Kitamura, and T. Iijima: Electron microscopic studies on the human axillary apocrine sweat gland. Arch. Hist. Jap. 16, 523–566 (1959).
Langley, L. L., and R.S. Brown: Stop-flow analysis of ionic transfer in the dog parotid gland. Amer. J. Physiol. 199, 59–62 (1960).
Lillie, R.D.: Histopathologic Technic and Practical Histochemistry. New York: McGraw Hill Book Co. 1954.
Luft, J.H.: Improvements in epoxy resin embedding methods. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 9, 409–414 (1961).
Mercer, E.H., B.L. Munger, G.E. Rogers, and S.I. Roth: A suggested nomenclature for fine structural components of keratin and keratin-like products of cells. Nature (Lond.) 201, 367–368 (1963).
Millonig, G.: Further observations on a phosphate buffer for osmium solutions in fixation. Fifth Internat. Congr. for Elec. Micr. 2, P-8 (1962).
Montagna, W.: The structure and function of skin, 2nd ed. New York: Academic Press 1962.
Mowry, R.W.: Alcian blue technics for the histochemical study of acidic carbohydrates. J. Histochem. 4, 407 (1956).
—: Improved procedures for the staining of acidic polysaccharides by Muller's colloidal (hydrous) ferric oxide and its combination with the Feulgen and periodic acid-Schiff reaction. Lab. Invest. 7, 566–576 (1958).
Munger, B.L.: The ultrastructure and histophysiology of human eccrine sweat glands. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 11, 385–402 (1961a).
— Staining methods applicable to sections of osmiumfixed tissue for high resolution light microscopy. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 11, 502–505 (1961b).
— Histochemical studies on seromucous- and mucous-secreting cells of the human salivary glands. Amer. J. Anat. 115, 411–430 (1964).
- The cytology of apocrine sweat glands II. Human. Z. Zellforsch. (in press) (1965).
—, and S.W. Brusilow: An electron microscopic study of eccrine sweat glands of the cat foot and toe pads. Evidence for ductal reabsorption in the human. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 11, 403–417 (1961).
Palay, S.L.: The Morphology of Secretion. In: Frontiers in Cytology (S.L. Palay, Ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press 1958.
Parks, H.F.: Morphological study of the extrusion of secretory materials by the parotid glands of mouse and rat. J. Ultrastruc. Res. 6, 449–465 (1962).
Pearse, A.G.E.: Histochemistry, Theoretical and Applied, 2nd ed. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1960.
Reynolds, E.S.: The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J. Cell Biol. 17, 208–212 (1963).
Richardson, K.C.: Personal communication.
Schieffendecker, P.: Die Hautdrüsen des Menschen und der Säugetiere, ihre biologische und rassenanatomische Bedeutung sowie die Muscularis sexualis. Biol. Zbl. 37, 534–562 (1917).
Shelley, W.B., and E.S. Levy: Histologic observations on the human apocrine sweat gland in health and disease. J. invest. Derm. 25, 249–264 (1955).
Terzakis, J.A.: The ultrastructure of monkey eccrine sweat glands. Z. Zellforsch. 64, 493–509 (1964).
Watson, M.L.: Staining of tissue sections for electron microscopy with heavy metals. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 4, 475–478 (1958).
Weiner, J.S., and K. Hellman: The sweat glands. Biol. Rev. 35, 141–186 (1960).
Yasuda, K., R.A. Ellis, and W. Montagna: The fine structural relationship between mitochondria and light granules in the human apocrine sweat gland. Okajimas Folia anat. jap. 38, 455–463 (1963).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This investigation was supported in part by United States Public Health Service research grants GM-03784 and GM-10102 from the Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Munger, B.L. The cytology of apocrine sweat glands. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 67, 373–389 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339383
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339383