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A mammary gland is an exocrine gland in humans and other mammals that produces milk to feed young offspring.Mammals get their name from the Latin word mamma, "breast".The mammary glands are arranged in organs such as the breasts in primates (for example, humans and chimpanzees), the udder in ruminants (for example, cows, goats, sheep, and deer), and the dugs of other animals (for example, dogs ...
Lactiferous ducts are ducts that converge and form a branched system connecting the nipple to the lobules of the mammary gland.When lactogenesis occurs, under the influence of hormones, the milk is moved to the nipple by the action of smooth muscle contractions along the ductal system to the tip of the nipple.
[1] [2] Mammary alveoli are the site of milk production and storage in the mammary gland. [1] [2] Mammary alveoli cluster into groups called mammary lobules, and each breast may contain 15 to 20 of these lobules. [1] [2] The lobules drain milk through the lactiferous ducts out of the nipples. [1] [2]
The female adult breast contains 14–18 irregular lactiferous lobes that converge at the nipple. The 2.0–4.5 mm milk ducts are immediately surrounded with dense connective tissue that support the glands. Milk exits the breast through the nipple, which is surrounded by a pigmented area of skin called the areola.
Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by the mammary glands in the breasts of women. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborn infants , comprising fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and a varying composition of minerals and vitamins.
These rudimentary tubules will eventually become the matured lactiferous (milk) ducts, which connect the lobules (milk "containers") of the breast, grape-like clusters of alveoli, to the nipples. [22] Until puberty, the tubule networks of the breast buds remain rudimentary and quiescent, [1] and the male and female breast do not show any ...
The release of prolactin triggers the cells in the alveoli to make milk. Prolactin also transfers to the breast milk. Some research indicates that prolactin in milk is greater at times of higher milk production, and lower when breasts are fuller, and that the highest levels tend to occur between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. [7]
A male breast. The human areola (areola mammae, / ə ˈ r iː ə l ə / [1] [2] or / ˌ ær i ˈ oʊ l ə / [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.