ANHIDROSIS

Abstract

The ability of the human body to sweat is cited as a physiol. defense against thermal stress. The common methods and technics of studying the presence or absence of sweating are noted. The importance of study in an atmosphere where relative humidity is high enough to permit sweat droplet formation,is stressed. The physiology of sweating and the relation of the sweat gland to drug stimulation, the action of the nervous system, and local factors, including the axon reflex, are reviewed. Clinical types of anhidrosis are classified as: due to changes in the nervous system (brain lesions, spinal-cord lesions, peripheral autonomic nerve lesions), due to changes in the sweat gland or duct (aphasia or absence, atrophy, obstruction due to pressure or plugging), or due to lesions at an indeterminate site (functional, skin diseases, systemic diseases, idiopathic). 8 case histories are presented to illustrate various types, and other cases are cited from the literature, which is extensively reviewed.