Image Credit: Giulio Fornasar, iStock While eccrine glands tend to hog the spotlight, there’s another culprit behind the body’s slick sheen: apocrine glands.

Scientific Reports (2022). [2] Current Diagnosis and Treatment Options for Cutaneous Adnexal Neoplasms with Apocrine and Eccrine Differentiation. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2021).

Humans have two types of sweat glands: eccrine glands, which are distributed evenly throughout the body, and apocrine glands, which are densely packed in the underarm, genital and nipple regions.

To understand why, let’s talk about the different types of sweat glands and what causes all that moisture. We have three types of sweat glands, Eccrine, Apocrine and Apoeccrine.

Both eccrine and apocrine sweat glands are innervated by postganglionic sympathetic fibers. For eccrine glands, the major neurotransmitter is acetylcholine, and for apocrine glands, catecholamines ...

More specifically, “Odor is caused by the bacteria breaking down the components of sweat and producing that characteristic ...

Apocrine sweat glands are found in the armpits, in the groin area and around the nipples, Rossi said. These glands produce a thick, sticky sweat composed of water, protein and fats.

Apocrine glands are found in areas where you have hair, such as your armpits and groin. These glands release a milky fluid when you’re stressed.

Eccrine glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of your skin. Apocrine glands open into the hair follicle, leading to the surface of the skin.

My InsiderWe have three types of sweat glands, eccrine, apocrine and apoeccrine. While the three types can produce sweat because of the same action, like running on a treadmill, it's important to ...