Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia, ˌɡaɪnɨkɵˈmæstiə, is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement. The term comes from the Greek γυνή gyne (stem gynaik-) meaning "woman" and μαστός mastos meaning "breast". The condition can occur physiologically in neonates (due to female hormones from the mother; this is called witches' milk), in adolescence, and in the elderly. In adolescent boys the condition is often a source of distress, but for the large majority of boys whose pubescent gynecomastia is not due to obesity, the breast development shrinks or disappears within a couple of years. The causes of common gynecomastia remain uncertain, although it has generally been attributed to an imbalance of sex hormones or the tissue responsiveness to them; a root cause is rarely determined for individual cases. Breast prominence can result from hypertrophy of breast tissue, chest adipose tissue and skin, and is typically a combination. Breast prominence due solely to excessive adipose is often termed pseudogynecomastia or sometimes lipomastia.