Sweat gland
![](/Images/godic/202502/14/Skin2247.png")
![Body of a sweat gland cut in various directions](/Images/godic/202502/14/Gray9462248.png")
![In apocrine secretion (pictured), portions of the cell are pinched off and later disintegrate.](/Images/godic/202502/14/Apocrine2248.jpg")
![Transverse view of the skin with sweat glands highlighted](/Images/godic/202502/14/Gray940_-_sweat_gland2248.png")
Sweat glands, also known as sudoriferous or sudoriparous glands, fromLatin sudor, meaning "sweat", are small tubular structures of the skin that produce sweat. Sweat glands are a type of exocrine gland, which are glands that produce and secrete substances onto an epithelial surface by way of a duct. There are two main types of sweat glands that differ in their structure, function, secretory product, mechanism of excretion, anatomic distribution, and distribution across species: