Sebaceous glands will be present in all types of skin other than thick skin. Their numbers should correlate with the number of hair follicles. If your section does not contain hair follicles you are unlikely to see a good sebaceous gland. Sebaceous glands are usually embedded in the dermis. Although they empty into the hair canal of the hair follicle, this point will only be visible for a few of them because of the thinness of the sections. It should however be possible to follow the fate of the secretory cells. Deep in the sebaceous glands cells are smaller with intact nuclei. Cell size increases with the accumulation of sebum as the cells are gradually displaced towards the opening of the gland into the hair follicle. The nuclei condense, become darker and irregularly shaped.
Draw a sebaceous gland. Emphasise the appearance of the secretory cells in different parts of the gland. If possible include part of the associated hair follicle.