Nipple

Nipple
A nipple, areola and breast of a female human
Details
Part of	Breast
Identifiers
Latin	papilla mammaria
MeSH	D009558
TA98	A16.0.02.004
TA2	7105
FMA	67771
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to breastfeed an infant.^[1][2] The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth muscle contractions that occur along with the ductal system. Male mammals also have nipples but without the same level of function, and often surrounded by body hair.

The nipple is surrounded by the areola, which is often a darker colour than the surrounding skin.^[3] A nipple is often called a teat when referring to non-humans. "Nipple" or "teat" can also be used to describe the flexible mouthpiece of a baby bottle. In humans, the nipples of both males and females can be sexually stimulated as part of sexual arousal. In many cultures, human female nipples are sexualized,^[4] or regarded as sex objects and evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics and sex appeal.^[5] Some cultures have little to no sexualization of the nipple, and going topless presents no barrier.^{[clarification needed]}