Subcutaneous fat in the context of "Integumentary system"

The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is a major secondary sex distinction between females and males. There is also considerable variation in size between individuals. Permanent breast growth during puberty is caused by estrogens in conjunction with the growth hormone. Female humans are the only mammals that permanently develop breasts at puberty; all other mammals develop their mammary tissue during the latter period of pregnancy.

In females, the breast serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secretes milk to feed infants. Subcutaneous fat covers and envelops a network of ducts that converge on the nipple, and these tissues give the breast its distinct size and globular shape. At the ends of the ducts are lobules, or clusters of alveoli, where milk is produced and stored in response to hormonal signals. During pregnancy, the breast responds to a complex interaction of hormones, including estrogens, progesterone, and prolactin, that mediate the completion of its development, namely lobuloalveolar maturation, in preparation of lactation and breastfeeding.

An ulcer is a sore on the skin or a mucous membrane, accompanied by the disintegration of tissue. Ulcers can result in complete loss of the epidermis and often portions of the dermis and even subcutaneous fat. Ulcers are most common on the skin of the lower extremities and in the gastrointestinal tract. An ulcer that appears on the skin is often visible as an inflamed tissue with an area of reddened skin. A skin ulcer is often visible in the event of exposure to heat or cold, irritation, or a problem with blood circulation.

They can also be caused due to a lack of mobility, which causes prolonged pressure on the tissues. This stress in the blood circulation is transformed into a skin ulcer, commonly known as bedsores or decubitus ulcers. Ulcers often become infected, and pus forms.

A lardon, also spelled lardoon, is a small strip or cube of fatty bacon, or pork fat (usually subcutaneous fat), used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory food and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by threading them with a needle into meats that are to be braised or roasted. Lardons are not normally smoked, and they are made from pork that has been cured with salt.

In French cuisine, lardons are served hot in salads and salad dressings, as well as on some tartes flambées, stews such as beef bourguignon, quiches such as Quiche Lorraine, in omelettes, with potatoes, and for other dishes such as coq au vin.

An apocrine sweat gland (/ˈæpəkrən, -ˌkraɪn, -ˌkriːn/; from Greek apo 'away' and krinein 'to separate') is composed of a coiled secretory portion located at the junction of the dermis and subcutaneous fat, from which a straight portion inserts and secretes into the infundibular portion of the hair follicle. In humans, apocrine sweat glands are found only in certain locations of the body: the axillae (armpits), areola and nipples of the breast, ear canal, eyelids, wings of the nostril, perineal region, and some parts of the external genitalia. Modified apocrine glands include the ciliary glands (glands of Moll) in the eyelids; the ceruminous glands, which produce ear wax; and the mammary glands, which produce milk. They are distinct from eccrine sweat glands, which cover the whole body.

Most non-primate mammals, however, have apocrine sweat glands over the greater part of their body. Domestic animals such as dogs and cats have apocrine glands at each hair follicle and even in their urinary system, but eccrine glands only in foot pads and snout. Their apocrine glands, like those in humans, produce an odorless, oily, opaque secretion that gains its characteristic odor upon bacterial decomposition. Eccrine glands on their paws increase friction and prevent them from slipping when fleeing from danger.