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Sebaceous Gland Lipids

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Biology of the Integument

Abstract

Sebaceous glands are small, uniquely mammalian, cutaneous organs located throughout the dermis of hairy skin and of certain mucocutaneous epithelia (Montagna and Parakkal 1974). Generally, they are attached by a duct to a hair follicle, through which they discharge their lipid secretion, called sebum, to the skin surface. The significance of sebum to the animals that produce it is not completely clear. Sebum may help some animals to stay warm and dry by providing a water-repellent lipid coating for the fur. Sebaceous lipids may also serve as olfactory signals in some species. In humans, it is doubtful that sebum has any useful function (Kligman 1963).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marshall Dermatology Research Laboratories, Department of Dermatology, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa, 52242, USA

    Mary Ellen Stewart

Authors
  1. Mary Ellen Stewart
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kinematische Zellforschung, Fachbereich Biologie der Universität, Postfach 11 19 32, D-6000, Frankfurt a.M., Germany

    Jürgen Bereiter-Hahn

  2. Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 80 East Concord Street, 02118, Boston, MA, USA

    A. Gedeon Matoltsy

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Keele, ST5 5BG, Keele, Staffordshire, GB

    K. Sylvia Richards

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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stewart, M.E. (1986). Sebaceous Gland Lipids. In: Bereiter-Hahn, J., Matoltsy, A.G., Richards, K.S. (eds) Biology of the Integument. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00989-5_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-00989-5_43

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-00991-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-00989-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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