Areola

Shade

The areolae can range from pink to red to brown to dark brown or nearly black, but generally tend to be paler among people with lighter skin tones and darker among people with darker skin tones. A reason for the differing color may be to make the nipple area more visible to the infant.

Hyperpigmentation occurs in most women during the second stage of pregnancy, leading to a temporarily darker shade.

Size and shape

The size and shape of areolae and nipples are also highly variable, with those of women usually being larger than those of men and prepubescent girls. Human areolae are mostly circular in shape, but many women have large areolae that are noticeably elliptical.

The average diameter of male areolae is around 28.0 mm. Sexually mature women have an average of 38.1 mm, but sizes can exceed 100 mm. 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, cracking, 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 papillae 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.

Mechanoreceptors

Breastfeeding by the baby stimulates slowly and rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors that are densely packed around the areolar region.

Diseases

Paget's disease of the breast is a malignant condition that outwardly may have the appearance of eczema, with skin changes involving the areola and nipple.

References

References

1. ''[[Oxford English Dictionary. OED]]'' 2nd edition, 1989.
2. {{cite Merriam-Webster. areola
3. The plural of ''areola'' is ''areolas'' or ''areolae'' ({{IPAc-en. ə. ˈ. r. iː. ə. ˌ. l. i. or {{IPAc-en. ˌ. ær. i. ˈ. oʊ. ˌ. l. i. ,_. ˌ. ɛr. -). ''Areola'' is the diminutive of Latin ''area'', meaning "open place".
4. (2009). "The Secretion of Areolar (Montgomery's) Glands from Lactating Women Elicits Selective, Unconditional Responses in Neonates". [[PLOS One]].
5. Fletcher, Jenna. (3 April 2018). "Dark nipples: 7 causes and when to see a doctor".
6. (2017-12-01). "Physiologic changes of pregnancy: A review of the literature". International Journal of Women's Dermatology.
7. (2003). "Nipple-areola reconstruction: outcome assessment". European Journal of Plastic Surgery.
8. (2016). "Prevalence and factors associated with cracked nipples in the first month postpartum". BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.
9. (2017). "Zitelli and Davis' Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis E-Book". Elsevier Health Sciences.
10. (2013-06-01). "Pregnancy-Associated Hyperkeratosis of the Nipple: A Report of 25 Cases". JAMA Dermatology.