what factors determine size and shape of breasts?

Question

Am doing my a & p home work please help obviously it's fatty (adipose) tissue but is this affected by weight gain/loss i pressume and what other factors?

Answer 1

When you've spent as much time studying breats as I have, you notice any number of things that affect their size and shape. To name a few:

As you observed, much of the breast is fatty tissue, and changes along with fat in the rest of the body. Overweight women (and men!) develop larger breasts, and athletes tend to have very small ones.

Elasticity of the skin is another big factor. Much of the weight of the breast is supported by a solid sheet of skin hanging down the torso. This is the reason why all breast surgery is done from underneath the breast - there's much less stress on the skin there! As people age the skin loses a lot of its youthful stretchiness, which is why young women tend to have tight, rounded breasts where older women have ones that sag more.

Human females have what is comparatively some of the largest breasts in the animal kingdom. Some biologists think this is because they lack any other overt sign of ovulation. When a woman's system is flooded with estrogen (as happens during ovulation), the non-adipose tissues in the breast tend to swell up and make the breasts slightly larger. A big 'I am ovulating now' sign, for any male that has been paying close attention to such things. Water retention during the menstrual cycle can also emphasize this.

Pregnancy, of course, also increases the size of the breasts as the non-adipose sections are enhanced to produce milk. This is caused by the hormone prolactin, and tends to reverse itself (partly, but not completely) after the end of nursing. Many women also gain weight during pregnancy, so this may be emphasized by that as well.

During puberty, the breasts also undergo some pretty standardized changes that have slightly different appearances. A gynecologist can often determine much of a young lady's development with just a breast exam. Usually a small lump forms under the areolae first, which then fills out to what we would recognize as a mature breast.

There are also genetic factors, of course! Some women have breasts of a certain size and shape because their whole family does. Which isn't to say that genetics completely trumps other factors... usually instead it just provides a predisposition to size, shape, color, and whatnot.

Many women develop lumps in their breasts which are benign and are therefore left alone rather than risk surgery. These can often be felt with palpation (with your fingers). If some of these lumps start to obstruct internal ducts the breasts can have trouble draining and fill with fluids (often painfully) as well. Obstruction of this kind happens more in women who wear tight bras.

Injury and surgery can also change the appearance and constitution of the breast. Particularly older women who have biopsies for cancer may be missing small chunks which can sometimes be detected. Some women have had breasts removed for medical reasons. And there are, of course, many women who have voluntarily had tissue removed during breast reduction surgery.

Breast augmentation is also popular, but the saline and other sacs that are placed in the breasts are not quite the same as normal breast tissue, so the difference can often be detected by close observation or by palpation. Assuming you have a compliant woman who accomodates you in that regard, that is!

Last (but not least) there are the nipples, which stand erect during sexual arousal and when exposed to cold. I'm told some burlesque houses and similar establishments specifically circulate chilly air to produce this effect (sorry guys, it's not you). The nipples can do this because they have muscles to do so. It's kind of funny to think of breast muscles, but then much of the skin has small muscles to raise hairs when you're cold as well (you know... goosebumps!).

I heartily encourage your interest in breasts, and hope my many years of field experience has proven useful. Enjoy!

Answer 2

i would say genes. Plus weight but mainly your genes affects the size of your breasts. And by the way, for all those who think that plastic surgery is the solution let me tell you that it isn't the case when you have large breast. They tend to came back to their original size at the minor gain of weight!

Answer 3

If its just based on genetics, I must be a rarity- My mother and both my grandmothers are large breasted, however I have small breasts--I always thought I would fill out more eventually b.c of the females in my family- didnt work out that way

Answer 4

Mostly shape of breasts is dependent upon the amount of fatty tissue present and number of secretory glands present. It is also influenced by the presence of females harmones present during the growth spurt . It is also influenced by the cyclical harmones

Answer 5

Heredity, pregnancy, number of children born, weight loss or gain, age, gravity, wearing or not wearing breast support (bra's) are a few off off the top of my head. Surgery might creep in there as well. (augmentation or reduction)

Answer 6

Genes obviously

Answer 7

it is about gene's from the women from both sides of families. there might be other factors but gens is the main factor

Answer 8

Main factor is if you have enough money to pay the plastic surgeon

Answer 9

genetics,
but also consider diet...
for example does estrogen (which children ingest from eating beef that has been fed hormones) change breast size?

Answer 10

when you have a child we develop milk which then makes them a bit larger so what does this?

think of that then you might get your answer