Distribution of hairs and sweat glands on the bodies of Korean adults: a morphometric study.

A morphometric study was made of the number of sweat glands and hairs per square centimeter of skin on different body regions of Korean adults. For this purpose, samples of skin from 30 body regions were obtained by punch biopsy from 74 cadavers of Korean adults. Serial transverse sections that extended through the papillary layer of the dermis were prepared in each case and subjected to routine histological staining. Sections of skin were examined under low magnification and the sweat ducts and hair follicles in each section were counted and recorded in terms of the number per square centimeter of skin. Arithmetic means and standard deviations for each region were also obtained for comparison of the densities of distribution. The soles (male) and the palms (female) were the regions of most densely distributed sweat glands while the mammary area in both sexes was the region of lowest density. Hairs were distributed most densely in the buccal region in males and on the mental (chin) region in females. The region of lowest density of hairs was the dorsum of the middle phalanx of the fingers in both sexes. Seven regions of the body exhibited significant sexual dimorphism in terms of the density of sweat glands while only four regions showed significant sexual dimorphism in terms of the density of hairs. Hairs appeared to be more densely distributed in the buccal regions of females than of males. However, the density of hairs in the dermis was not always proportional to the density of visible hairs.