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Biology of the Integument pp 318–338Cite as

Sebaceous Glands

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Abstract

Sebaceous glands are unique in many respects when the general structure and physiology of the skin of various mammalian genera and species are considered. The second of the epidermal appendages to differentiate, following only the hair anlagen during ontogeny (Serri and Huber 1963; Bell 1971 b; Breathnach 1971), they soon connect directly by means of ducts with their associated hair follicles, thus forming pilosebaceous units. In some species, e.g., lemurs (Montagna 1962 b), the sebaceous glands of the general body surface lose their associations with hair follicles after fetal life and open directly onto the epidermal surface, but in most mammals, only specialized sebaceous glands, such as the Meibomian glands of the eyelids, routinely open onto surfaces. Among mammals, only whales and porpoises, which lack hair, are also devoid of sebaceous glands (Montagna 1962a). Classified as simple, branched glands, i.e., glands with ducts that do not branch, complete pilosebaceous units are difficult to depict in two dimensions, especially in large glands such as those of man, because several alveoli can discharge secretory products into one pilosebaceous canal at many sites located circumferentially at the same depth from the skin surface.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 231 Bethesda Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA

    Mary Bell

  2. Gillette Research Institute, 1413 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850, USA

    Mary Bell

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  1. Mary Bell
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kinematische Zellforschung, Fachbereich Biologie der Universität, Postfach 11 19 32, D-6000, Frankfurt a.M., Germany

    Jürgen Bereiter-Hahn

  2. Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 80 East Concord Street, 02118, Boston, MA, USA

    A. Gedeon Matoltsy

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Keele, ST5 5BG, Keele, Staffordshire, GB

    K. Sylvia Richards

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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bell, M. (1986). Sebaceous Glands. In: Bereiter-Hahn, J., Matoltsy, A.G., Richards, K.S. (eds) Biology of the Integument. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00989-5_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00989-5_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-00991-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-00989-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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