A serious question..immature people need not reply?

Question

Why do men have nipples? what purpose does it serve?

Answer 1

This sounds really weird but I heard this from a med student. She said that men have nipples because boys start as girls (or vice versa) but then they 'form' into one or another:

"One interesting consequence of the developmental set-up just described is that during the very early stages of fetal life, before the s*x hormones have had a chance to do their stuff, all humans are basically bisexual. Among other things, you have two sets of primitive plumbing--one male, one female. Only one set develops into a mature urogenital system, but you retain traces of the other for the rest of your life."

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_...

Answer 2

As most have stated, that's how the embryo starts out.

Men can and do get breast cancer, it is not uncommon, and men, in certain circumstances, have been known to lactate and feed a baby, but it is very rare.

Answer 3

For the first three weeks of life, the X chromosome is dominant and that is when the nipples form...if the baby is going to be male, after that period the Y chromosome takes over, developing the male attributes.

In the first three weeks of life....ALL of us are female.

Answer 4

all embryos start as female.  Only with a release of testosterone during gestation does the embryo become male.  The nipples have no purpose. They are just features left from the female version.  Did you know men can get breast cancer too?

Answer 5

You may have heard this elsewhere, but all mammals start off female; some later develop male characteristics.  The nipples are a standard feature.  If you have a male cat or dog, check them and you'll find lots of nipples, just like the females.  In most males, there is a tiny amount of non-functional mammary tissue underneath; in rare cases men have developed breast cancer or even the ability to lactate.