Sweat is made by sweat glands in the skin and carried to the skin’s surface by ducts.
Getting Under the Skin
|
The skin has three layers. Beneath the surface of the skin are nerves, nerve endings, glands, hair follicles, and blood vessels. Sweat is produced by glands in the dermis and reaches the surface of the skin through tiny ducts.  |
As sweat wets the skin and evaporates, it helps keep the body cool. Thus, people normally sweat more when it is warm. They also sweat when they are nervous, under stress, or have a fever.
Sweat is composed mostly of water, but it also contains salt (mostly sodium chloride) and other chemicals. When a person sweats a lot, the lost salt and water must be replaced.
Disorders of sweating include those of
- Excessive or abnormal body odor (bromhidrosis)
- Variations in the amount of sweat produced (hypohidrosis [diminished sweating] and hyperhidrosis [excessive sweating])
- Trapped sweat (causes prickly heat)
