Fragrance glands
The scent glands only occur in very specific parts of the body: The armpit, the nipples and the genital area. At three to five mm, they are significantly larger than the normal sweat glands, and are located in the subcutis (see above), closely related to the hairs. Although the scent glands are present from birth, they only become functional when puberty sets in.
Their secretion production is activated on emotional stimuli, and the scent glands release their scents (pheromones) to the hair funnel. Only there they are processed together with the skin sebum by skin bacteria into various odorous substances. Thus, the respective bacterial colonization of the specific body region plays an essential role in the production of scent.
This is important for social and sexual behavior. Of course, diseases can also originate from the sweat and scent glands, as from all parts of the body. These would be, for example:
- Adenomas (benign tumors)
- Hyperhidrosis (an abnormally high production of sweat)
- Anhidrosis (the lack of perspiration)
- Bromhidrosis (an excessively strong body odor)
Sebaceous glands
Sebaceous glands (Glandulae sebacea) are found in the upper part of the dermis. They produce fats (lipids), the excretion product is then called sebum.Since most of the sebaceous glands are in very close anatomical relationship with the hair, they are sometimes called hair follicle glands. The remaining, free sebaceous glands are found in the nostrils, lips and genital area.
The human body needs sebum to keep the skin supple and to maintain the acidic environment on the skin to ensure protection against skin diseases, various pathogens and chemical substances. Of course, not all parts of the body have the same number of sebaceous glands. There are areas with a higher density, such as the entire scalp, genital area and face.
In some areas of the body, there are also no sebaceous glands at all, namely the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The body produces around one to two grams of sebum per day, depending on predisposition, age, sex, diet and numerous environmental influences. The sebum is composed of: These ingredients enable the sebum to effectively protect the skin from drying out.
However, if daily production is disturbed, various disease patterns can occur. For example, there are people with an excessively high sebum production (seborrhoics), and people with a rather low sebum production (sebostatics). Should one of the secretion pores ever become blocked, the sebum behind it can accumulate and blackheads can develop.
- 43% Triglycerides (neutral fats)
- 23% waxing
- 15% free fatty acids
- 15% squalenes (a cholesterol precursor) and
- 4% cholesterol.
