Sexual Selection and Human Breast Morphology

<p>Human females, uniquely among primates, develop prominent breasts during puberty, well before reproduction occurs. Adipose tissue in breasts forms part of the "gynoid" fat distribution, involving the hips, thighs, buttocks and breasts of women. Breasts are thus characterised as secondary sexual characteristics, and their evolution may be due, at least in part, to the effects of sexual selection. This partial reversal of the usual pattern of male adornment may be related to high paternal care in humans. Breast morphology is complex, so that women vary not only in the size and shape of their breasts, but also in the size, shape and pigmentation of their areolae and nipples. These traits change with reproductive status and age. Breasts are more prone to fluctuating asymmetry than many other features of human anatomy and such asymmetry may be closely related to some measures of reproductive success. This thesis used digitally altered images to investigate the impact of morphological changes on perceptions of attractiveness and other qualities. Study 1 investigated the impact of four breast sizes and three areola colours on the perceptions of two hundred participants. Breast size significantly impacted all ratings. Attractiveness and health ratings were maximised at the intermediate breast size for the lightest and original coloured areola, and at the largest breast size for the darkest areola. Ratings of nurturance, sexual maturity and estimates of age increased stepwise from the images with undeveloped breasts to the images with the largest breasts. Areola colour interacted with breast size. Darker areola were judged less attractive, less healthy and less nurturing when paired with small or intermediate breasts, but increased these ratings when paired with large breasts. There was no strong effect of areola colour on ratings of images with undeveloped breasts or on ratings of sexual maturity and age. Study 2 investigated the effect of breast asymmetry on attractiveness and health ratings using data provided by two hundred participants. Increasing levels of asymmetry, created by modifying one breast to increase the apparent volume (four levels from 102.5% to 110% of the original) or position (four levels from 1%-4% of the length of the image) resulted in progressively lower ratings. The differences in ratings between the images with extreme levels in asymmetry (107.5% vs 110% and 3% vs 4%) were smaller. Images that had been modified in the models left (and so seen on viewer's right side) were given higher ratings than those modified identically but on the other side. This may be an expression of a phenomena known as pseudoneglect, where people appear to attend more to the left. In Study 3, a diverse selection of images, taken from previously published reports on human breast morphology and attractiveness, were compiled as a single questionnaire and shown to 37 participants. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the impact of different image types on ratings of attractiveness and health. Photographic images were rated higher than line drawings or silhouettes. Photographs may be more ecologically valid, as they are more realistic and can be tailored to match the study population. The results presented in this thesis indicate that variations in human breast size, areola colour and breast asymmetry have measurable effects on the perceptions (of both sexes) of attractiveness and health. Breast size also has significant impacts on perceptions of nurturance, reproductive status and age, whereas areola colour has less effect on these ratings. Questionnaire studies employing photographs are likely to be more effective than more stylised images. Morphological changes in the human breast may signal mate value and fertility and therefore may have been subject to sexual selection, as well as natural selection, during human evolution.</p>

Sexual Selection and Human Breast Morphology

<p>Human females, uniquely among primates, develop prominent breasts during puberty, well before reproduction occurs. Adipose tissue in breasts forms part of the "gynoid" fat distribution, involving the hips, thighs, buttocks and breasts of women. Breasts are thus characterised as secondary sexual characteristics, and their evolution may be due, at least in part, to the effects of sexual selection. This partial reversal of the usual pattern of male adornment may be related to high paternal care in humans. Breast morphology is complex, so that women vary not only in the size and shape of their breasts, but also in the size, shape and pigmentation of their areolae and nipples. These traits change with reproductive status and age. Breasts are more prone to fluctuating asymmetry than many other features of human anatomy and such asymmetry may be closely related to some measures of reproductive success. This thesis used digitally altered images to investigate the impact of morphological changes on perceptions of attractiveness and other qualities. Study 1 investigated the impact of four breast sizes and three areola colours on the perceptions of two hundred participants. Breast size significantly impacted all ratings. Attractiveness and health ratings were maximised at the intermediate breast size for the lightest and original coloured areola, and at the largest breast size for the darkest areola. Ratings of nurturance, sexual maturity and estimates of age increased stepwise from the images with undeveloped breasts to the images with the largest breasts. Areola colour interacted with breast size. Darker areola were judged less attractive, less healthy and less nurturing when paired with small or intermediate breasts, but increased these ratings when paired with large breasts. There was no strong effect of areola colour on ratings of images with undeveloped breasts or on ratings of sexual maturity and age. Study 2 investigated the effect of breast asymmetry on attractiveness and health ratings using data provided by two hundred participants. Increasing levels of asymmetry, created by modifying one breast to increase the apparent volume (four levels from 102.5% to 110% of the original) or position (four levels from 1%-4% of the length of the image) resulted in progressively lower ratings. The differences in ratings between the images with extreme levels in asymmetry (107.5% vs 110% and 3% vs 4%) were smaller. Images that had been modified in the models left (and so seen on viewer's right side) were given higher ratings than those modified identically but on the other side. This may be an expression of a phenomena known as pseudoneglect, where people appear to attend more to the left. In Study 3, a diverse selection of images, taken from previously published reports on human breast morphology and attractiveness, were compiled as a single questionnaire and shown to 37 participants. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the impact of different image types on ratings of attractiveness and health. Photographic images were rated higher than line drawings or silhouettes. Photographs may be more ecologically valid, as they are more realistic and can be tailored to match the study population. The results presented in this thesis indicate that variations in human breast size, areola colour and breast asymmetry have measurable effects on the perceptions (of both sexes) of attractiveness and health. Breast size also has significant impacts on perceptions of nurturance, reproductive status and age, whereas areola colour has less effect on these ratings. Questionnaire studies employing photographs are likely to be more effective than more stylised images. Morphological changes in the human breast may signal mate value and fertility and therefore may have been subject to sexual selection, as well as natural selection, during human evolution.</p>

Surgery of congenital breast asymmetry—which objective parameter influences the subjective satisfaction with long-term results

Purpose Congenital breast asymmetry is a serious gynecological malformation for affected patients. The condition hits young women in puberty and is associated with socio-esthetic handicap, depression, and psychosexual problems. Surgical treatment is usually early in the patient's lifetime, so a long-term sustainable solution is important. Although postoperative outcome has been evaluated in several studies before, this study is the first to analyze which objective parameters have the greatest influence on subjective satisfaction with long-term results. Methods Thirty-four patients diagnosed with congenital breast asymmetry that underwent either lipofilling or implant therapy between the years of 2008 to 2019 were examined. On average, our collective comprised patients seven years after surgery. Data were mainly gathered through manual measurements, patient-reported outcome measures (Breast Q™), and breast volumetry based on 3D scans (Vectra® H2, Canfield Scientific). Results Among all analyzed parameters, only areolar diameter correlated significantly negatively with the subjective outcome satisfaction of the patient. Regarding the subjective assessment of postoperative satisfaction with similarity of the breasts, again the mean areolar diameter, but also the difference in areolar diameter and breast volume between the right and left breasts correlated significantly negatively. Conclusion Areolar diameter was revealed as being a significant factor influencing subjective long-term satisfaction in breast asymmetry patients. Moreover, 3D volumetry proves to be an effective tool to substantiate subjective patient assessments. Our findings may lead to further improvements to surgical planning and will be expanded in further studies.

Implants versus Lipograft – Analysis of Long-Term Results after Congenital Breast Asymmetry Procedure

Congenital breast asymmetry represents a particular challenge to the classical techniques of plastic surgery due to a young group of patients. This study compares traditional breast augmentation using silicone implants to the more innovative lipograft technique regarding long-term results. To achieve this, we not only captured subjective parameters like satisfaction with outcome and symmetry, but also objective parameters such as breast volume and anthropometric measurements. Objective examination was performed manually and by using the Vectra&reg; H2 photogrammetry scanning system. Patients who underwent implant augmentation and lipograft both showed no significant differences in patient&acute;s satisfaction with surgical outcome (p = 0.55) and symmetry (p = 0.69). Furthermore, a breast symmetry of 93 % in both groups was reported. Likewise, no statistically significant volume difference between left and right breast was observed in both groups (p&lt;0.41). However, on average, lipograft patients needed 1.3 procedures more until the desired result was achieved. In contrast, patients treated with implant-based breast augmentation usually need several implant changes during their life. In conclusion, both methods should be considered for patients with congenital breast asymmetry.

Asymmetry of the breast

Developmental breast asymmetry is common in women and may be associated with significant psychological distress. It may be due to deformity of the breast itself (true) or secondary to abnormalities of the underlying torso (apparent). True breast asymmetry may be congenital or acquired. This chapter gives an overview of the aetiology and classification of developmental breast asymmetry and discusses the clinical evaluation of women presenting with breast asymmetry. Congenital breast asymmetry, subdivided into hypoplastic, hyperplastic, and deformational, is discussed. The abnormalities and challenges specific to Poland syndrome and tuberous breast deformity are described. For each subdivision, the surgical techniques available to correct the deformity are reviewed. The limitations of surgery and potential outcomes are discussed.

The Impact of Breast Symmetry on Eye Movement and Gaze Pattern: An Eye-Tracking Investigation

Background The objective assessment of beauty is challenging and subject to current research efforts. Recently, a new means of objectively determining the aesthetic appeal of body features has been investigated by analyzing gaze patterns and eye movements. Objectives The objective of this study was to assess differences in observers’ gaze patterns presented with standardized 3-dimensional images with different degrees of breast asymmetry using objective eye-tracking technology. Methods A total of 83 Caucasian study participants with a mean age of 38.60 (19.8) years were presented with 5 images depicting varying degrees of breast symmetry. In addition to the assessment of eye movements, participants were asked to rate the aesthetic appeal and the asymmetry of the breasts on a 5-point Likert scale. Results Overall, the data show that participants rating of the breasts’ aesthetic appeal was inversely related to the level of asymmetry. Time until fixation was shortest for the image depicting the greatest breast asymmetry (50 cc) with 0.77 (0.7), p &lt;0.001. In addition, the mammary region was also viewed longest in this image with 3.76 (0.5) seconds, p &lt; 0.001. A volume difference of 35 cc between breasts deflected the observers’ gaze significantly toward the larger of the asymmetrical breasts, p&lt;0.001. Conclusions Surgeons should focus on symmetrical breast volume (ie, differences &lt; 35 cc between breasts) to avoid noticeable asymmetry with regard to breast size.

“Surgery of Congenital Breast Asymmetry – Which Objective Parameter Influences the Subjective Satisfaction With Long-term Results?”

Purpose: Congenital breast asymmetry is a serious gynaecological malformation for affected patients. The phenotyping hits young women in puberty and is associated with a socio-aesthetic handicap, depression and psychosexual problems. Therefore, the time of therapy is usually early in view of the patient's entire life so that a sustainable solution is important. Although, postoperative outcome has been evaluated in several studies before, this study firstly analyses which objective parameters have the most influence on subjective satisfaction with long-term results.Methods: 34 patients with a diagnosed congenital breast asymmetry that underwent either lipofilling or implant therapy in the years of 2008 - 2019 were examined. On average, our collective was seven years postoperatively. Data was mainly gathered by manual measurements, patient-reported outcome measures (Breast Q™) and breast volumetry based on 3D scans (Vectra® H2, Canfield Scientific).Results: Among all analysed parameters, only the areola diameter correlated significantly negative with the subjective outcome satisfaction of the patient. Regarding the subjective assessment of the postoperative satisfaction with similarity of the breasts, again the mean of areola diameter, the difference of areola diameter between right and left breast and the difference of volume assessed with 3D scans correlated significantly negative.Conclusion: The areola diameter was shown to be a significant influencing factor for patient-subjective long-term satisfaction in breast asymmetry patients. Besides, 3D volumetry was shown to be a good tool for objectifying patient subjective assessments. Our findings could lead to further improvement of surgical planning and will be built upon in further studies.

Giant Lipoma of The Breast: Special Clinical Finding

Lipomas are the most common benign tumors of mesenchymal origin.Lipoma of breast is somewhat difficult to diagnose clinically because of fattyconsistency of breast. Giant lipoma is the mass of lipoma that exceeds atleast 10 cm in one dimension or weighs a minimum of 1000 gr.Only veryfew case reports giant lipoma of the breast available in literature becauserarity in size and location. Due to the fatty composition of the breast,difficulties in diagnosis, threatment, and reconstruction are oftenencountered.Presently, we have reported a case of this rare entity in 49years old female with giant tumor of the left breast that most of its mass,causing breast asymmetry and feel heavy. The operative finding: looks likelipoma between pectoralis major muscle and pectoralis minor muscle witha diameter of 31 cm and weighs 3.1 kg. After excision the tumor we need tomammoplasty.Pathology anatomy examination showed a lipoma.