Functional Activity of the Sweat Glands of the Mouse

Abstract

Using the iodine-starch method for visualizing sweat, the functional activity of the eccrine sweat glands of the mouse foot-pads was studied.
The sweat glands of the pad were stimulated by local injection of parasym-pathomimetic agents, such as acetylcholine, carbaminoylcholine, mecholyl and pilocarpine, and sympathomimetic ones, such as adrenaline, noradrenaline and iso-p ropyl noradrenaline. In general, the parasympathomimetic agents were more effective in eliciting sweat responses than the sympathomimetic ones.
The fact that spontaneous sweating was eliminated by relatively low con-centrations of atropine, but not by relatively high concentrations of dihydro-ergotamine suggests that the sweat glands of the plantar surface of the mouse receive a cholinergic nerve supply. Nicotine and lobeline, injected intradermally, did not provoke an axon reflex sweating.