Final answer:
Eccrine sweat glands are the primary type of glands responsible for regulating body temperature through the production of hypotonic sweat. Distributed widely across the skin, these glands are essential for thermoregulation and maintaining homeostasis in humans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main kind of sweat glands that are distributed all over the body are the eccrine glands. These glands play a critical role in thermoregulation, helping to cool the body when it becomes warm by producing sweat. Eccrine glands develop from projections in the epidermis that extend into the dermis and are classified as merocrine glands. The sweat produced by these glands is excreted through ducts that lead to pores on the skin surface. The hypotonic sweat produced is mostly water, but also contains salts, antibodies, traces of metabolic waste, and dermicidin, an antimicrobial peptide. Unlike apocrine glands, which are associated with hair follicles, eccrine glands are found throughout the skin's surface and are especially abundant on the palms, soles of the feet, and forehead.
The main function of the eccrine sweat gland is to control body temperature by releasing water, which evaporates and cools the skin. This process is essential for maintaining homeostasis and is especially prominent in humans compared to many other mammals, whose eccrine glands are often limited to certain areas or absent altogether.