Interesting Facts About Breasts

The inframammary fold (or line, or crease) is an anatomic structure created by adherence between elements in the skin and underlying connective tissue and represents the inferior extent of breast anatomy. Some teenagers may develop breasts whose skin comes into contact with the chest below the fold at an early age, and some women may never develop such breasts; both situations are perfectly normal. The relationship of the nipple position to the fold is described as ptosis, a term also applied to other body parts and which refers in general to drooping or sagging. Due to breast weight and relaxation of support structures, the nipple-areola complex and breast tissue may eventually hang below the fold, and in some cases the breasts may extend as far as, or even beyond, the navel. The length from the nipple to the sternal notch (central, upper border) in the youthful breast averages 21 cm and is a common anthropometric figure used to assess both breast symmetry and ptosis. Lengthening of both this measurement and the distance between the nipple and the fold are both characteristic of advancing grades of ptosis.
The end of the breast, which includes the nipple, may either be flat (a 180° angle) or angled (angles lower than 180°). Breast ends are rarely angled sharper than 60°. Angling of the end of the breast is caused in part by the ligaments that suspend it, such that the breast ends often have a more obtuse angle when a woman is lying on her back. Breasts exist in a range of ratios between length and base diameter, usually ranging from ½ to 1.