Question

Name the target structure in skin involved in Acne vulgaris

• A. Sebaceous glands
• B. Bartholin glands
• C. Sweat glands
• D. Hair follicles

Hint:

Think about which gland androgens stimulate to overproduce oil in acne.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We need to identify the specific skin structure that is primarily affected in acne vulgaris.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Acne vulgaris is a disease of the pilosebaceous unit, but the central driving problem is overactivity and blockage of one particular gland within that unit, triggered by androgen hormones.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
In acne, androgen hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce excess sebum. This excess oily secretion, together with abnormal keratinisation of the follicle lining, blocks the follicular opening and forms a comedone. Propionibacterium acnes bacteria then multiply in this blocked, oily space and trigger inflammation, giving papules, pustules and cysts. The sebaceous gland is therefore the structure whose overactivity starts the whole disease process.
Bartholin glands sit near the female genital opening and have nothing to do with facial or truncal acne.
Sweat glands, whether eccrine or apocrine, are involved in conditions like miliaria or hidradenitis suppurativa, not in classic acne vulgaris.
Hair follicles are physically part of the pilosebaceous unit and do get blocked, but the primary driver of the disease is the attached sebaceous gland producing too much sebum under androgen stimulation, not the hair follicle itself.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The sebaceous glands are the target structure whose androgen driven overactivity underlies acne vulgaris.