Bundesarchiv Bild 183-17369-0004, Barby, Bauer eine Melkmaschine präsentierend

A teat is the projection from the

mammary gland A mammary gland is an exocrine gland in humans and other mammals that produces milk to feed young offspring. Mammals get their name from the Latin word ''mamma'', "breast". The mammary glands are arranged in organs such as the breasts in ...

s of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s from which

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

flows or is ejected for the purpose of feeding young. In many mammals the teat projects from the udder. The number of teats varies by mammalian

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

and often corresponds to the average litter size for that animal. In some cases, the teats of female animals are milked for the purpose of human consumption. The quality of some domesticated animals is determined by the establishment of desired characteristics, such as teat size and placement.

Number and positioning in animals

The number and positioning of

s and teats varies widely among mammals. The protruding teats and accompanying glands can be located anywhere along the two

milk line The mammary ridge or mammary crest is a primordium specific for the development of mammary glands. Development The mammary ridge is primordial for the mammary glands on the chest in humans, and is associated with mammary gland and breast developm ...

s. In general most mammals develop mammary glands in pairs along these lines, with a number approximating the number of young typically birthed at a time. The number of teats varies from 2 (in elephants and anthropoids) to 18 (in pigs).

Marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in ...

s usually have 4 to 12 teats, but the

Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United S ...

has 13, one of the few mammals with an odd number. The following table lists the number and position of teats and glands found in a range of mammals:

Disease of teats

A number of diseases can affect the teats of cattle. * Pseudocowpox * Warts caused by

bovine papillomavirus Bovine papillomaviruses (BPV) are a paraphyletic group of DNA viruses of the subfamily '' Firstpapillomavirinae'' of ''Papillomaviridae'' that are common in cattle. All BPVs have a circular double-stranded DNA genome. Infection causes warts (pap ...

* Teat-end hyperkeratosis *

Dermatitis Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved c ...

Frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in t ...

Udder sores An udder is an organ formed of two or four mammary glands on the females of dairy animals and ruminants such as cattle, goats, and sheep. An udder is equivalent to the breast in primates and elephantine pachyderms. The udder is a single mass han ...

or necrotic dermatitis Goats are also affected by diseases of the teats.

Etymology

Teat is derived from the Old French or Dutch word, "tete" or the Greek word τιτθύς. An alternative, but possibly not unrelated, would be the Welsh word "teth" or the Old English, "titt" which is still used as a slang term. The words "teat" and "tit" share a Germanic ancestor. The second of the two, tit, was inherited directly from Proto-Germanic, while the first entered English via

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

References

{{Authority control Glands Mammal anatomy Nipple Secondary sexual characteristics

Number and positioning in animals

Disease of teats

Etymology

See also

References