ChatterBank9 mins ago
why do
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Why do nipples get bigger in the cold ?
And does this happen to eskimos or are their bodies acclimatised to the cold after centuries ?
And does this happen to eskimos or are their bodies acclimatised to the cold after centuries ?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.We have special muscular cells within our skin (in the dermis) called myocytes. They're the same that form some of our larger muscles (of the smooth or involuntary muscle type), but in this area they are isolated, and arranged in sort of a circle around the nipple.
Now, when skin muscle cells contract, they cause the skin they're attached to to "fold" because they get shorter.
In the case of nipples, the arrangement of the myocytes causes them to become hard; it's the equivalent of the goosebumps that appear in other areas of our bodies, when the dermal muscles associated with our hair contract.
Contraction of these muscle cells may be triggered by different stimuli: touch (pressure), cold (temperature), or sexual excitement ('orders' from the brain).
Now, when skin muscle cells contract, they cause the skin they're attached to to "fold" because they get shorter.
In the case of nipples, the arrangement of the myocytes causes them to become hard; it's the equivalent of the goosebumps that appear in other areas of our bodies, when the dermal muscles associated with our hair contract.
Contraction of these muscle cells may be triggered by different stimuli: touch (pressure), cold (temperature), or sexual excitement ('orders' from the brain).
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In respect of temperature, as eloquently detailed by 4get, the nipples react to a change in temperature. Whilst the Inuit people may be more hardened to bearing the extremes of temperature for prolonged periods, they are quite likely to have the same reactions to us when faced with a fair degree of instantaneous temperature change.