Teat

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Udder closeup.jpg Teat is an alternative word for a nipple or breast. In cattle, goats, etc, it is the projection from the udder through which milk is discharged. Teats are also called papilla mammae. The rubber mouthpiece of a baby's feeding bottle is sometimes called a teat. Teat is derived from the Old French or Dutch word, "tete". 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 number of teats varies through the "mammal world" from 2 to 19 [1]. Marsupials and Eutherian mammals have teats from which their young suckle milk. Monotremes lack teats; their young drink milk directly from pores in the skin, or by sucking it off of hairs surrounding the pores. In most Eutherian mammals, both male and female have teats. Those of the male are nonfunctional except in cases of hormonal imbalance. Two exceptions are the male rat and the male horse, neither of which has teats.

Teats vary in size, location, and structure in different mammalian species. Female goats and ewes have two teats, each with a single mammary gland, located between the hindlegs. Mares have two teats, each with two mammary glands. The teats of the sow can be quite variable in number, from six to thirty, and are located on two parallel lines along the belly. Cows have four teats, each with one mammary gland in the udder. Extra teats occur often, and are known as supernumerary teats. They are nonfunctional and are usually removed from domestic animals.

The offspring of domestic animals, including piglets, calves, lambs, and foals, engage in a behavior known as teat seeking. This strong instinct occurs in most species within minutes of birth, and serves both to connect the young to the food source and to encourage bonding between mother and young.is:Speni