Areola

Areola
Breast schematic diagram
(adult female human cross section)
Legend: 1. Thoracic wall 2. Pectoralis muscles
3. Lobules 4. Nipple 5. Areola 6. Duct
7. Fatty tissue 8. Skin
Details
Identifiers
Latinareola mammae
MeSHD009558
TA98A16.0.02.012
TA27106
FMA67796
Anatomical terminology
A male breast.

The human areola (areola mammae, /əˈrələ/[1][2] or /ˌæriˈlə/[2][3]) is the pigmented area on the breast around the nipple. More generally, an areola is a small circular area on the body with a different histology from the surrounding tissue, or other small circular areas such as an inflamed region of skin.

The mature human female nipple has several small openings arranged radially around the tip of the lactiferous ducts, from which milk is released during lactation. The other small openings in the areola are sebaceous glands, also known as areolar glands.[4]

  1. ^ OED 2nd edition, 1989.
  2. ^ a b "areola". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  3. ^ The plural of areola is areolas or areolae (/əˈrəˌli/ or /ˌæriˈˌli, ˌɛr-/). Areola is the diminutive of Latin area, meaning "open place".
  4. ^ Doucet S, Soussignan R, Sagot P, Schaal B (2009). "The Secretion of Areolar (Montgomery's) Glands from Lactating Women Elicits Selective, Unconditional Responses in Neonates". PLOS One. 4 (10): e7579. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.7579D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007579. PMC 2761488. PMID 19851461.

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