A method for the calculation of the relative contributions of recruitment and enhancement to human eccrine sweating

Juan Carlos Fasciolo; Gregory L. Totel; Becky B. Johnson; Robert E. Johnson

doi:10.1172/JCI106308

¹Human Environmental Research Unit, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

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¹Human Environmental Research Unit, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

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¹Human Environmental Research Unit, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

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¹Human Environmental Research Unit, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

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Published in Volume 49, Issue 5 on May 1, 1970
J Clin Invest. 1970;49(5):890–897. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI106308.
© 1970 The American Society for Clinical Investigation

Published May 1, 1970 - Version history

The rate of eccrine sweating has been studied by collecting samples in unventilated capsules from human subjects following subdermal or intradermal injections of acetyl-β-methylcholine and under moderate total body heat exposure. The rate of sweating in a given area of skin could increase by recruitment of fresh glands, enhanced output of the already active glands, or some combination of both.

A theoretical analysis shows how recruitment and enhancement can be calculated separately, assuming the existence of a maximal rate of sodium reabsorption by eccrine sweat glands, a sodium concentration of 145 μEq/ml in the precursor fluid, the absence of significant water reabsorption, and the absence of back-diffusion of sodium. The results indicate that, depending on the experimental conditions, an increased rate of sweating can be attributed mainly to recruitment, to enhancement, or to a combination of both.

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