human areola ( areola mammae, OED 2nd edition, 1989. or The plural of areola is areolas or areolae ( or ). Areola is the diminutive of Latin area, meaning "open place".) is the area on the breast around the nipple. More generally, an areola is a small circular area on the Human 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 , from which milk is released during lactation. The other small openings in the areola are , also known as Areolar gland.
Hyperpigmentation occurs in most women during the second stage of pregnancy, leading to a temporarily darker shade.
The average diameter of male areolae is around . Sexually mature women have an average of , but sizes can exceed . Lactating women, and women with particularly large breasts, may have even larger areolae. A function of the specialized dermis of the areola is to protect the regular breast skin from wear, cracked nipple, and irritation. Infants sometimes create trauma to the nipple and areolae by latching-on.
Rated according to the Tanner scale of female physical development, the areolae enlarge during stage 3, but they show no separation of contour. During stage 4, the areolae and nipple rise above breast level and form secondary mounds. By stage 5, the breasts have fully developed. As this has resulted in recession of the areolae, the papillae may reach a little above the breasts' contour.
Pregnancy can cause enlargement of the areola tissue and of Montgomery glands or tubercles.
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