: producing or being a secretion resulting from lysis of secretory cells holocrine sebaceous glands.

The sebaceous glands exhibit a holocrine form of secretion.

The secretion of a holocrine gland is made up of secretory products formed inside the cell, which are released when the plasma membrane ruptures. Thus, the holocrine secretion contains both the disintegrated cells and their contents. An example of holocrine gland is the sebaceous gland of the skin.

Holocrine glands This type of secretion is rare and these glands are found in the breast and constitute some sweat glands. Holocrine glands release whole secretory cells, which later disintegrate to release the secretory products.

Holocrine is a term used to classify the mode of secretion in exocrine glands in the study of histology. Holocrine secretions are produced in the cytoplasm of the cell and released by the rupture of the plasma membrane, which destroys the cell and results in the secretion of the product into the lumen.

Apocrine sweat glands are tubular, coiled secretory glands lined by simple cuboidal epithelium that surround a larger lumen than eccrine sweat glands. Within the basal region, they contain myoepithelial cells with contractile properties that assist in the movement of secretory products upward and outward.

Mammary glands are apocrine glands.

Eccrine glands occur over most of your body and open directly onto the surface of your skin. Apocrine glands open into the hair follicle, leading to the surface of the skin. Apocrine glands develop in areas abundant in hair follicles, such as on your scalp, armpits and groin.

Humans have three different types of sweat glands: eccrine, apocrine, and apoeccrine. Eccrine sweat glands are abundantly distributed all over the skin and mainly secrete water and electrolytes through the surface of the skin.