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Pharmacy Links

BREAST LUMPS: STRUCTURE OF FEMALE BREAST AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

23/04/09

The breast is a gland – the mammary gland – which is made up of 15 to 20 lobules of glandular tissue, separated by lines of fibrous material. It is embedded in fat, which gives it its smooth surface and most of its bulk.

The function of the breasts in all mammals is to produce milk for the developing young. Milk production occurs in the lobules, and the milk passes via lactiferous ducts to the nipple. Around each nipple is a pigmented area called the areola, which is lubricated by oily secretions from sebaceous glands in the skin.

Blood is taken to and from the breast through a rich supply of arteries and veins. There is also a system of lymph vessels which drain lymph from the breast. Lymph is a clear fluid which surrounds the cells of the body tissues and contains a large number of disease-fighting cells called lymphocytes. The lymph drains from the surface to deep within the breast, and from there to lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) and in the chest wall adjacent to the breastbone or the collar bone.

The lymphatic drainage of the breast is particularly important in malignant disease as cancer cells are able to spread via the lymph vessels to other areas of the body, particularly to the axillary lymph nodes of the armpit. However, swollen lymph nodes can also develop in benign conditions, and their presence is therefore not necessarily a sign of cancer.

As a fetus develops in the womb, part of its chest wall turns inwards to form a series of branching ducts. Just before birth, the ducts turn out again, forming the nipple. In girls, at puberty, many small sac-like alveoli sprout from the ends of the ducts and fat is laid down around them. The glandular alveoli develop further during pregnancy and secrete droplets of milk in lactation.

As women get older, the gland tissue in their breasts is gradually replaced by fat, which is why the breasts become softer and tend to droop with age. Eventually most of the ducts and lobules disappear.

Tender nodules may appear as the breasts begin to develop at puberty, and this tenderness may remain for months or even years. But once the breasts have developed, any pain or lump that forms needs to be investigated. It is possible that the early detection and removal of a cancerous breast lump may give a better chance of cure and survival than does treatment of one which has begun to spread to other parts of the body.