| Summary: | Within the akin of animals are situated various glands which secrete their products to the outer surface of the skin. The glands exist in many forms and their functions are diverse. A satisfactory classification based on the morphology of the glands has been worked out and the glands of the vertebrata are recognised as belonging to three main types: - holocrine, eccrine and apocrine glands. In man the holocrine glands are referred to as sebaceous and the eccrine as sudoriferous or sweat glands. These terms are often used also for animals. Comparatively few animal skin glands or secretions have been investigated chemically. The sebaceous secretion of the sheep, wool wax, has been much investigated owing to the commercial value of this product; and the author participated for some years in studies of wool wax at the National Chemical Research Laboratory, Pretoria. In Chapter I is summarised the present knowledge of wool wax chemistry, including contributions from this laboratory into the investigation of dihydric alcohols and hydroxy-acids and the syntheses of iso-acids which occur in wool wax. Skin secretions which have no commercial applications are nevertheless of great interest from a physiological and biochemical point of view. In this respect human skin secretions may naturally attract more attention than those of other animals. Their investigation may prove rewarding in throwing further light upon the studies of dermatological disorders in general, and more particularly upon the all-important problem of skin cancer. A study of human sebaceous secretions was taken up in this laboratory by the author; the aliphatic alcohols and some polycyclic hydrocarbons present were investigated. The chemistry of human sebaceous secretions is reviewed in Chapter II. Chapter III reviews work of other investigators on various skin gland secretions. The "scent" glands of musk deer and other animals and the "preen" glands of some birds have been investigated. Some materials of human origin such as ear wax, which are considered as related to sebaceous secretions, are included in this review. Natural fats and waxes are generally of complex composition and early workers did not succeed in isolating many pure components from such materials. As a result of improved techniques and methods considerable progress has been made in the last few years towards the elucidation of the fine structures of fats and waxes.
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