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What occurs in the sweat glands that results in the release of hypotonic filtrate from the blood through exocytosis?

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Final answer:

In the eccrine sweat glands, a hypotonic filtrate is released through exocytosis to aid in thermoregulation, cooling the body and maintaining homeostasis.

Step-by-step explanation:

Within the sweat glands, specifically eccrine sweat glands, a hypotonic filtrate is produced for the purpose of thermoregulation. This filtrate is a diluted version of blood plasma that contains mostly water along with some salts, antibodies, metabolic wastes, and antimicrobial peptides like dermicidin. When the body temperature rises, the eccrine glands excrete sweat onto the skin surface through a process known as exocytosis, which involves the release of sweat droplets from the cells of the glands into the ducts leading to the skin surface, without affecting the cells themselves. This sweating process helps to cool the body and maintain homeostasis by utilizing the heat required for the evaporation of the sweat from the skin.

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