The glands of the integument include the sebaceous glands, merocrine (eccrine) sweat glands, the apocrine sweat glands, and the mammary glands. In this section, only the two sweat glands will be considered since the sebaceous glands were examined in conjunction with the hair. The mammary glands will be covered in the section on the female reproductive tract.

Skin, Thick (H&E) [#47]- or Skin, Thin (H&E)[#48]- Examine the dermal layer for presence of merocrine sweat glands. The secretory portion is distinguished from the duct portion in that it is more highly coiled and stains a lighter color. The secretory portion consists of simple epithelium resting on a basement membrane. Myoepithelial cells are also present, located between the secretory cells and the basal lamina. However, under the light microscope only the nuclei of these cells may be observed. The duct portion of the glands consists of 2 layers of cuboidal cells, however, the cell boundaries may be difficult to distinguish under the light microscope. Myoepithelial cells are absent from the duct portion of the gland.