Summary
The secretory cells of human apocrine sweat glands are characterized by the presence of large mitochondria, which have scant cristae and an electron opaque matrix. Electron opaque granules, presumed to be a keratin, are present in the supranuclear cytoplasm. The keratin granules contain histochemically demonstrable SH, SS, and lipid groups, and they have a typical appearance by electron microscopy. Secretory vacuoles containing mucopolysaccharide are formed in association with the Golgi apparatus and are liberated from the cytoplasm by a merocrine mechanism. The duct cells of human apocrine glands contain few organelles and are presumed to alter the secretion little, if at all. The term “apocrine” should be retained, although the cells secrete by a merocrine mechanism, and used in a generic sense to designate a defined group of epidermally derived glands.
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This investigation was supported in part by Public Health Service research grants GM-03784 and GM-10102 from the Institute of General Medical Sciences.
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Hunger, B.L. The cytology of apocrine sweat glands. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 68, 837–851 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00343935
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00343935