areola

American  

[uh-ree-uh-luh] / əˈri ə lə /

noun

Biology.

plural

areolae, areolas

1. a ring of color, as around the human nipple.

2. a small interstice, as between the fibers of connective tissue.

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areola British  

/ əˈrɪələ, əˌrɪəˈleɪʃən, -ˌleɪt, əˈrɪəlɪt /

noun

1. anatomy any small circular area, such as the pigmented ring around the human nipple or the inflamed area surrounding a pimple

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Other Word Forms

• areolar adjective
• areolate adjective
• areolated adjective
• areolation noun
• multiareolate adjective

Etymology

Origin of areola

1655–65; < Latin, equivalent to āre ( a ) area + -ola -ole ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Anna's work was recently recognised at the UK Permanent Makeup Artists Conference in London where she was named medical/areola artist of the year.

From BBC

A Facebook spokesperson said the site allowed images of post-mastectomy areola tattoos on a page or profile but not within advertising.

From BBC

"The script called for him to touch my breast. I was surprised that he circled my areola. We had not discussed the scene prior to filming."

From Fox News

He uses techniques he picked up years ago while helping breast cancer survivors who wanted tattoos of areolas — the darkened area around nipples — after having mastectomies.

From New York Times

The surgery and subsequent infections did irreparable damage to her areolas, the pigmented area around the nipple, and missing parts had to be tattooed in to conceal the damage.

From BBC