• Question: women hae nipples because they feed the baby when its born but why do men have nipples to

    Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 13 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Phillip Manning

      Phillip Manning answered on 13 Jun 2014:

      The nipple is an interesting evolutionary tail for mammals, as it defines our group in many ways….given it is only mammals who suckle their young. The nipple is thought to have evolved from modified sweat glands. They form early during development of a human embryo, both in male and females, but this is governed by hormones from the mother. So, us chaps have to thank developmental biology and also our mums for our male nipples! As a rather gruesome point…nipples are modified sweat glands!

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 14 Jun 2014:

      I’m not very good at biology, but I think nipples develop before the sex of the baby is decided.

    • Photo: Lynne Thomas

      Lynne Thomas answered on 15 Jun 2014:

      Its not something I know a lot about and so I asked my friends and got several different answers! It must be an evolutionary thing but I can’t say more than that!

    • Photo: Daren Fearon

      Daren Fearon answered on 15 Jun 2014:

      One theory is that all humans begin as females in their mothers wombs and as they begin to develop, foetuses that will become male (those with Y chromosomes) restrict the growth of breasts and cause the growth of male reproductive organs. The genes responsible for developing nipples are different from those that define sex, so the nipples are there from the start.

    • Photo: Simon Redfern

      Simon Redfern answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Because we’d look odd without them? In the 007 James Bond film “The Man With The Golden Gun” the baddie, Scaramanger, has _three_ nipples. Maybe the number of nipples you have influences your moral outlook?

Comments

  • Photo: Ben

    Ben commented on :

    This due to the productions of hormones by the mother during pregnancy. Testosterone doesn’t start kicking in until day ~60, in males, and this is after the nipples have already starting forming and is thought to have more of a role in the development of the brain and genitals (male).