Eccrine sweat glands have what type of duct and secretory portion?

• A. Coiled tubular glands with secretory portion made of simple cuboidal cells; ducts lined by stratified cuboidal epithelium
• B. Tubular glands with stratified squamous ducts
• C. Spherical glands with cuboidal ducts
• D. Branched glands with columnar ducts

Answer: (A)

Eccrine sweat glands are organized as coiled tubular glands embedded in the dermis. The secretory portion is composed of a single layer of cuboidal cells that produce the watery secretion, often with surrounding myoepithelial cells helping to expel the sweat. The duct portion travels through the dermis and epidermis and is lined by stratified cuboidal epithelium. This combination—coiled tubular gland with a simple cuboidal secretory unit and a duct lined by stratified cuboidal epithelium—fits best. Other descriptions, such as spherical secretory units or ducts lined by squamous epithelium, do not match the typical architecture of eccrine glands.