Accessory breast
| Accessory breast | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Medical genetics  |
The condition of having accessory breasts is known as "polymastia," "supernumerary breasts," or "mammae erraticae."
Extra breasts may appear with or without nipples and/or areolae.
A related condition, in which extra nipples form, is called "polythelia" or "supernumerary nipples."
Locations
The most supernumerary breasts on record is eight (in addition to the usual pair)[1], and five supernumerary nipples appeared on another woman's left breast and two on her right breast.[citation needed]
Women have nursed infants from supernumerary breasts located upon their groins and in other unusual places. [2]
Incidence/Prevalence
Estimates as to the incidence of polymastia and polythelia range from one to six percent of the general population.
Causes
Polymastia results from the eruption of extra breasts along the milk line during embryonic development. In unusual cases, extra breasts may appear on the buttock, the back of the neck, the face, the upper arm, the shoulder, the hip, or the back.[citation needed]
Polymastia is often associated with abnormalities of the urinary tract and with certain diseases. (PMID 11500714)
Charles Darwin believed that polymastia represented a throwback to an earlier evolutionary point of development in which mammals had more than two mammary glands. [3] [4]
Examples
Fictional
In mythology, attributes are exaggerated or multiplied to emphasize their efficacy. For example, Priapus has been depicted with an oversized penis, and Artemis of Ephesus has been portrayed as having tier upon tier of breasts. Priapus' oversize penis underscores his virility and his fertility, while Artemis' tiers of breasts highlight her ability to nurture.
This motif is also used in motion pictures, possibly as a means of shocking viewers. For example, in both Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and The Sword and the Sorcerer, starring Lee Horsley, female characters are shown as having three, rather than two, breasts. The Total Recall character is a mutant prostitute. The Sword and the Sorcerer character is a dancer. The breasts of the Total Recall character are side by side. Those of The Sword and the Sorcerer character are in tiers, with two in the normal positions and the third centered below the upper pair.
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Eccentrica Gallumbits, the Triple-Breasted Whore of Eroticon 6 is a frequently alluded-to character.
Francisco Scaramanga, the villain of the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, had an extra nipple.
Historical
Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII's second wife, was said to possess a third breast. [5], PMID 10653061
See also
External links
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