Breast Anatomy

Breast anatomy needs to be described simply and clearly so everyone can understand what it means.

Both men and women have breasts. Women have much larger breasts than men because they have female hormones that cause breast enlargement. Understanding breast anatomy is important if you want to know what doctors are looking for when a mammogram or breast cancer ultrasound is done.

The female breast is more complicated than it looks. There are four quadrants to the breast:

• The upper outer quadrant
• The lower outer quadrant
• The upper inner quadrant
• The upper outer quadrant

Most of the female breast is made from fat and connective tissue. The working parts of the breast (for breastfeeding) are the milk ducts, the lobes and the lobules of the breast. The breast is made up of 12-20 lobules or sections. Each lobule branches out from the nipple, following ducts that take the milk from the lobule to the nipple during breastfeeding.

The lobules of the breast contain alveoli. These are hollow sacs that hold milk. The thin tubes that connect all the lobules are known as ducts.

A breast cancer photo will show the lobules and the ducts that give rise to a breast cancer lump. Normal ducts carry milk to the areola, the dark part of the nipple.

Breast milk made in the alveoli comes out of the nipple. Small ducts connect to form larger ducts that are the largest at the nipple.

There are no muscles in the breast but there are muscles beneath the breast that can affect the size of the breast. In breast cancer surgery, sometimes some of the muscle is removed because breast cancer can travel to the muscle.

Breast anatomy also includes the:

• Arteries
• capillaries and
• veins

They provide oxygen to the breast tissue and provide the fluid that breast milk is made from.

Arteries carry oxygen to the breast tissue.

Capillaries send nutrients to the breast tissue and are very tiny.

Veins carry waste and carbon dioxide away from the breast tissue.

The breast has a strong lymph system. The lymph system carries waste away from the breast cells. Lymph nodes are found in the armpit and in other areas around the breast. You have lymph nodes above the collar bone and behind the breast bone, for example.

During a breast exam, the doctor checks the lymph nodes in the armpit and other areas to make sure they aren’t enlarged. A good breast exam should be done at least once per year.

If your breast feels lumpy, it could be because there are enlargements of the lobules of the breast. If there is a breast cancer lump, it will tend to cause skin retraction and will be a very firm lump.

Breast Anatomy if you have Breast Cancer

A mammogram can help decide if you have breast cancer. It will show a lump or a collection of calcium deposits in the breast tissue.

If there is a lump, doctors may do a breast cancer ultrasound to see if the lump is solid or has fluid in it. If there is fluid in the breast lump, the doctor may suck it out. The fluid is usually from a blocked alveolus. The fluid is clear or bloody and is not usually dangerous.

The doctor will have the fluid checked for breast cancer anyway.

If you have a solid lump, it can be breast cancer or a benign breast lump. The doctor will do a biopsy of the area or will remove the lump.

The lump is then checked for breast cancer. If it is cancerous, the cancer either came from the alveoli or from the ducts.

The most common breast cancer comes from the ducts. It is called intraductal breast cancer. You can also have intralobular cancer. It comes from the lobules of the breast and can be seen on a breast cancer ultrasound.

On rare occasions, breast cancer can come from the connective tissue of the breasts. It is treated a bit differently from lobular or intraductal breast cancer. Talk to your doctor about the treatment options if you have this type of breast cancer.

There are more cancers in the upper outer quadrant of the breast because there are more ducts and lobules in that area of the breast. In a breast exam, the doctor will pay special attention to that area of the breast.

Having a Breast Cancer Ultrasound

You might have to have a breast cancer ultrasound if the mammogram was abnormal. During the ultrasound, a lubricant is applied to your breast and an ultrasound wand will be placed over the breast.

The doctor will push on the breast to find the lump. If the lump is solid, it will look white. If the lump is a cyst, it will look dark on the ultrasound. The doctor may take a needle and put it into the lump. Tissue or fluid is sucked out of the lump and is examined under the microscope.

We hope this essay on breast anatomy has been helpful. You can always write to us at this website to discuss anything further.

Dr. Christine Traxler
2 5 2010