Holocrine secretion is best described as which of the following?

• A. The cell dies and releases its contents
• B. Vesicles fuse with the apical membrane to release contents
• C. Secretions are released by apical cytoplasm pinching off
• D. Secretions released into ducts as secretory vesicles

Answer: (A)

Holocrine secretion happens when the secretory cell fills with product and then ruptures, releasing its entire contents and dying in the process. This mode is exemplified by sebaceous glands, where the whole cell disintegrates to secrete sebum. So the best description is that the cell dies and releases its contents. The other options describe different secretion modes: merocrine involves vesicles fusing with the membrane to release contents without cell death; apocrine involves apical portion of the cell pinching off with some cytoplasm; and secretion into ducts as secretory vesicles also aligns with vesicle-based exocytosis rather than full-cell destruction.