areola

woman's breast showing areola

The areola is the pigmented area around the nipple.

For males, a study by plastic surgeons¹ of 100 non-obese men, ages 17 to 30, found an average areolar diameter of 2.8 cm, and that the areola lay 20 cm from the sternal notch, 18 cm from the midclavicular line. The distance from nipple to nipple was 21 cm. The authors felt these dimensions were applicable (for the purposes of plastic surgery) to men of all heights and weights.

Areolar diameter decreases with age and increases with weight.

1. Michael S. Beckenstein, M.D., Brian H. Windle, M.D., and Robert T. Stroup, M.D.
Anatomical parameters for nipple position and areolar diameter in males.
Annals of Plastic Surgery, vol. 36, no.1 (January 1996).