Which type of gland secretes its product through the disintegration and rupture of entire cells?
Solution
Correct Answer: Option A
Glands secrete their products through different mechanisms, and these mechanisms are essential for understanding glandular function.
- Holocrine glands secrete their product by the disintegration and rupture of entire cells. In this process, the whole cell becomes part of the secretion. The cells accumulate secretory products, then die and rupture, releasing both the secretion and cell debris. This is typical of sebaceous glands in the skin.
- Merocrine glands release their products via exocytosis without any loss of cellular material. Most sweat glands and salivary glands use this mode.
- Apocrine glands secrete by pinching off a portion of the cell's cytoplasm along with the secretory product. This partial disintegration involves only a part of the cell, not the entire cell.
- Endocrine glands secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream without using ducts, and their secretion mechanism is not associated with cell rupture.
Thus, the holocrine gland is the only gland type that releases its product through the destruction and rupture of entire cells.
Reference: Gray's Anatomy, 41st Edition, Volume 1, Chapter 7, Section on Glandular Epithelium
- Holocrine glands secrete their product by the disintegration and rupture of entire cells. In this process, the whole cell becomes part of the secretion. The cells accumulate secretory products, then die and rupture, releasing both the secretion and cell debris. This is typical of sebaceous glands in the skin.
- Merocrine glands release their products via exocytosis without any loss of cellular material. Most sweat glands and salivary glands use this mode.
- Apocrine glands secrete by pinching off a portion of the cell's cytoplasm along with the secretory product. This partial disintegration involves only a part of the cell, not the entire cell.
- Endocrine glands secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream without using ducts, and their secretion mechanism is not associated with cell rupture.
Thus, the holocrine gland is the only gland type that releases its product through the destruction and rupture of entire cells.
Reference: Gray's Anatomy, 41st Edition, Volume 1, Chapter 7, Section on Glandular Epithelium
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