The Breast

An external badge of womanhood, breasts symbolizes femininity, nurturance and love. They have been written about for centuries by poets and authors, painted and photographed, and revered in films and music for decades. Yet, their physical composition is not as widely discussed.

The breast is made up primarily of tissue nestled between layers of fat. Within the tissues are dozens of lobes, arranged like the petals of a sunflower. Lobes end in several tiny bulbs called lobules that can produce milk. These are connected by thin pipes called ducts that lead to the nipple in the center of a dark area of skin called the areola. Fat surrounds the lobules and ducts. There are no muscles in the breast, but muscles sit under each breast and cover the ribs.

Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels transport clear fluid called lymph, which contains waste products and cells of the immune system, away from the breast, where is passes through a group of filters called lymph nodes. These nodes filter harmful bacteria and cancer cells. Clusters of lymph nodes are found near the breast in the axilla (armpit), above the collarbone and in the chest. Lymph nodes also are found in many other parts of the body.

Click the links on the left margin to review information regarding benign breast conditions, pre-malignant breast conditions, and breast cancer.