Which gland is responsible for thermoregulatory sweating and is distributed widely across the skin?

• A. Sebaceous glands
• B. Eccrine glands
• C. Apocrine glands
• D. Ceruminous glands

Answer: (B)

Sweat glands that regulate body temperature are the ones spread across most of the skin and secrete a watery fluid directly onto the surface, where it can evaporate to cool the body. These glands are called eccrine glands. Their ducts open onto the skin surface, not into hair follicles, and they’re plentiful on areas like the palms, soles, and forehead, making them ideal for broad-based cooling.

Other gland types don’t fit this role. Sebaceous glands produce oily sebum and are linked to hair follicles, not cooling. Apocrine glands also associate with hair follicles and mainly contribute to body odor rather than thermoregulation. Ceruminous glands reside in the ear canal and produce earwax, which has nothing to do with cooling the body.

So, eccrine glands are best suited for thermoregulatory sweating due to their widespread distribution and direct secretion onto the skin surface.