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What's in sweat? (Holocrine, Apocrine,...
Khan Academy
Related terms:
bile
colostrum
gastric juice
milk
mucus
pancreatic juice
saliva
sebum
bodily secretion
Body Substance
sweat Audio
sweat [ swet ]
Subclass of:
Bodily secretions
Also called:
Perspiration
Definitions related to sweat:
  • Fluid excreted by the sweat glands; consists of water containing sodium chloride, phosphate, urea, ammonia, and other waste products.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Sweat is a clear, salty liquid produced by glands in your skin. Sweating is how your body cools itself. You sweat mainly under your arms and on your feet and palms. When sweat mixes with bacteria on your skin, it can cause a smell. Bathing regularly and using antiperspirants or deodorants can help control the odor. Sweating a lot is normal when it is hot or when you exercise, are anxious, or have a fever. It also happens during menopause. If you often sweat too much, it's called hyperhidrosis. Causes include thyroid or nervous system disorders, low blood sugar, or another health problem. Sweating too little, anhidrosis, can be life-threatening because your body can overheat. Causes of anhidrosis include dehydration, burns, and some skin and nerve disorders.
    MedlinePlus
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • The fluid excreted by the SWEAT GLANDS. It consists of water containing sodium chloride, phosphate, urea, ammonia, and other waste products.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
  • The liquid secreted by the sweat glands, having a salty taste and a pH that varies from 4.5 to 7.5. Sweat produced by the eccrine sweat glands is clear with a faint characteristic odor, and contains water, sodium chloride, and traces of albumin, urea, and other compounds. Its composition varies with many factors, e.g., fluid intake, external temperature and humidity, and some hormonal activity. Sweat produced by the larger, deeper, apocrine sweat glands of the axillae contains, in addition, organic material which on bacterial decomposition produces an offensive odor.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • The secretion by the sweat glands that is primarily composed of water and salt.
    NICHD Pediatric Terminology
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • (portion of sweat) Secretion produced by a sweat gland.
    Foundational Model of Anatomy
    University of Washington, 2017
  • Perspiration, in most mammals, water given off by the intact skin, either as vapour by simple evaporation from the epidermis (insensible perspiration) or as sweat, a form of cooling in which liquid actively secreted from sweat glands evaporates from the body surface. Sweat glands, although found in...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025
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