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BDSM Dictionary : Breast: history
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This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
This normally refers to a woman's mammary glands but might also refer to the upper forward surface of the human body, male or female, extending from the neck to the abdomen.
Although both human male and female breasts have mammary glands, the breast can been viewed as an organ designed to produce milk. Within the mammary gland is a complex network of branching ducts, or tubes, which link sac-like structures called lobules, which can produce milk in females, on out of the body through the breast's nipple.
It is composed largely of fat and the lobules and ducts are supported in the breast by surrounding fatty tissue and ligaments. There are no muscles in the breast. In tying breasts around in such a manner that they are being forced away from the body, these tissues and ligaments can easily be damaged; since they do not repair readily, this will cause the breast to sag and in severe circumstances can require surgery to re-attach (or replace) the breast.
The nipple becomes erect because of cold, breast feeding and sexual arousal or excitement.
The pigmented area around the nipple is called the areola.
Although the primary biologic function of the breast is to make milk to feed a baby, the breast is also a symbol of femininity and beauty. The appearance of the normal female breast differs greatly between individuals and at different times during a woman's life -- before, during and after adolescence, during pregnancy, during the menstrual cycle, and after menopause.
There is a great variety in the size, shape and comparative placement of breasts in women. Factors that affect this, especially size, include race, weight, eating habits, exercise and age. It is quite normal for a woman's breasts to be different sizes.
The size of a woman's breasts is typically expressed as a 'bra size'.
Statistics published in the Journal for Sex Research in 1987 revealed
that the female population (in USA) had the following bra cup sizes: A-
15%, B- 44%, C- 28%, D- 10%. According to the results of the 'Size UK'
survey, the average bra size in the UK has increased from a 34B in the
1950s to a 36C in 2005 (though the average women is also more
overweight, which increases breast size). ABCD do not have the same
meaning in the two countries.External Links
(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the Breast article in Wipipedia.)
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