Skin blood flow measurements on the breast areola

Blood flow and thermally insulated skin temperature were measured in the aerolae of normal breasts by means of the non-invasive transient thermal clearance method. Both parameters showed high variability among different women, but also showed typical dependence on the subject's age: the two parameters were constant up to age 50, and then showed a decrease at higher ages. The decrease can be attributed to the normal decrease of tissue blood flow at higher age and to atrophy of the breast glandular tissue after menopause. Statistically significant higher values of blood flow and insulated skin temperature were found for the left breast relative to the right breast.