Breast Size, Appearance, and Changes Over Time

The size and form of women’s breasts varies significantly. Some women have a large quantity of breast tissue, and therefore, have large breasts. Other women have a lesser amount of handkerchief with little breast fat.

Factors that may power a woman’s breast size include:

• Quantity of breast tissue
• Family history
• Age
• Weight loss or gain
• History of pregnancies and lactation
• Thickness and elasticity of the breast skin
• Degree of hormonal influences on the breast (particularly estrogen and progesterone)
• Menopause

A woman’s breasts are hardly ever balanced (symmetrical). Usually, one breast is slightly larger or smaller, higher or lower, or shaped in a different way than the other. The size and characteristics of the nipple also vary better from one woman to another. In some women, the nipples are continually erect. In others, they will only become erect when enthused by cold or touch. Some women also have inverted (turned in) nipples. Upturned nipples are not a cause for concern unless the circumstance is a new change. Since there are hair follicles in the region of the nipple, hair on the breast is not infrequent.

The nipple can be flat, surrounding, or cylindrical in shape. The color of the nipple is determined by the slenderness and pigmentation of its skin. The nipple and areola (pigmented region surrounding the nipple) contain particular muscle fibers that respond to stimulation to create the nipple erect. The areola also houses the Montgomery’s gland that may come into sight as tiny, raised bumps on the surface of the areola. The Montgomery’s gland help lubricate the areola. When the nipple is stimulated, the muscle fibers will indenture, the areola will pucker, and the nipples develop into hard.

Breast shape and look undergo a number of changes as a woman ages. In young women, the breast skin stretches and expands as the breasts grow, create a rounded appearance. Young women tend to have denser breasts (more glandular tissue) than big women.

During each menstrual cycle, breast tissue tends to swell from change in the body’s levels of estrogen and progesterone. The milk glands and ducts make bigger, and in turn, the breasts retain water. During menstruation, breasts may temporarily feel distended, painful, tender, or lumpy.

Breast Size, manifestation and Changes Overtime

THE EFFECTS OF HORMONES ON BREAST TISSUE

The breast is receptive to a complex interplay of hormones that cause the breast tissue to develop, increase and produce milk. The three major hormones upsetting the breast are estrogen, progesterone and prolactin, which cause glandular tissue in both the breast and uterus to revolutionize during a woman’s menstrual cycle. Because of concentrated hormonal levels, the breasts are less full for 1 to 2 weeks after menstrual flow; therefore, it may be easier to detect breast lumps throughout this time. Reduction of hormonal levels is also accountable for the breast’s return to its pre-pregnant state after breast-feeding is completed.

Breast shape and manifestation change as a woman ages. In the young woman the breast skin is stretched and long-drawn-out by the developing breasts. The breast in the adolescent is more often than not hemispherical, round and equally full in all areas. As a woman gets older, the topside of the breast tissue settles to a lower location, the skin stretch and the form of the breast changes. After menopause, with the diminish of hormonal activity, the masterpiece of the breast changes; the amount of glandular tissue decrease and fat and ductal tissue become the predominant mechanism of the breast. Reduction in glandular volume can consequence in further looseness of the breast skin