The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are all linked by thin tubes called ducts. These ducts lead to the nipple in the center of a dark area of skin called the areola. Fat fills the spaces between lobules and ducts. There are no muscles in the breast, but muscles lie under each breast and cover the ribs.
The thymus is a small organ located just behind the breast bone (sternum) in the front part of the chest.
(klivɪdʒ ) Word forms: cleavages. countable noun. A woman's cleavage is the space between her breasts, especially the top part which you see if she is wearing a dress with a low neck.
But breast lumps are common. Most often they're noncancerous (benign), particularly in younger women. Still, it's important to have any breast lump evaluated by a health care provider, especially if it's new or if one breast feels different from the other breast.
Changing hormone levels can cause changes in the milk ducts or milk glands. These changes in the ducts and glands can cause breast cysts, which can be painful and are a common cause of cyclic breast pain. Noncyclic breast pain may be caused by trauma, prior breast surgery or other factors.
A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancer, but breast cancers can be also soft, round, tender, or even painful. Other possible symptoms of breast cancer include: Swelling of all or part of a breast (even if no lump is felt) Skin dimpling (sometimes looking like an orange peel)
Breast pain is common and usually not serious. Most women will experience breast pain at some point in their lives, but only a few will be diagnosed with a serious problem like cancer. If you have concerns about your breast pain, talk with a doctor about your symptoms.
Lumps in a woman are most often either fibroadenomas or cysts, or just normal variations in breast tissue known as fibrocystic changes. Fibrocystic changes are painful, lumpy breasts. This is a benign condition that does not increase your risk for breast cancer.
Commonly developing from the mammary glands or ducts, such malignant lumps generally (about 50 percent) appear in the upper, outer quadrant of the breast, extending into the armpit, where tissue is thicker than elsewhere.
Where are breast cysts usually located? Cysts are fluid-filled lumps or bumps that can appear anywhere under the skin, including within the breast. In breast cysts, fluid fills the lobules. Breast cysts are typically located in the upper outer quadrant or the central margins (in the middle, close to the nipple).
Hormone shifts
This sensitivity is known as cyclic mastalgia or fibrocystic changes. Around 50 percent of all women over the age of 30 experience this. Right before your period starts, your breasts may feel especially tender if you press on them, or they may ache.
The main chest muscle (the pectoralis muscle) is found between the breast and the ribs in the chest wall.
Lymph nodes are normal immune system glands that are found throughout the body including in the breasts and armpit. They are commonly found in the upper, outer aspect of the breast. They are usually very mobile and can occasionally be tender.
The xiphoid process, also referred to as the metasternum, is a small, bony extension of the sternum at its lower end. When this part is damaged, it gets inflamed. The resultant swelling may form a lump on the abdomen. The sternum, or breastbone, is in the center of the chest.
A breast lump that's painless, hard, irregularly shaped and different from surrounding breast tissue might be breast cancer. Skin covering the lump may look red, dimpled or pitted like the skin of an orange. Your breast size and shape may change, or you may notice discharge from the nipple.
Tumour location within the breast varies with the highest frequency in the upper outer quadrant (UOQ) and lowest frequency in the lower inner quadrant (LIQ). Whether tumour location is prognostic is unclear.
Bumps that are cancerous are typically large, hard, painless to the touch and appear spontaneously. The mass will grow in size steadily over the weeks and months. Cancerous lumps that can be felt from the outside of your body can appear in the breast, testicle, or neck, but also in the arms and legs.
Fibroadenomas are solid, smooth, firm, noncancerous (benign) lumps that are most commonly found in women in their 20s and 30s. They are the most common benign lumps in women and can occur at any age. They are increasingly being seen in postmenopausal women who are taking hormone therapy.
On a mammogram, they can sometimes be seen as a smooth, round mass in the breast tissue. On ultrasound, they are usually smooth, round and black. Sometimes cysts do not have these typical features and they are difficult to distinguish from solid (non-fluid) lesions just by looking.
Cyclic breast pain.
Roughly a week before your period, you may start to feel a little pain in the upper, outer parts of your breasts. Cyclic breast pain goes away naturally once you get your period, but returns during your next menstrual cycle. Most women don't experience this type of breast pain after menopause.
Pain. Although most breast cancers do not cause pain in the breast or nipple, some do. More often, women have breast pain or discomfort related to their menstrual cycle. Also, some non-cancer breast conditions, such as mastitis, may cause a more sudden pain.
Stress and anxiety can also be linked to breast pain. Non-cyclical breast pain may be continuous or it may come and go. It can affect women before and after the menopause. The pain can be in one or both breasts and can affect the whole breast or a specific area.
A cancerous lump may feel rounded, soft, and tender and can occur anywhere in the breast. In some cases, the lump can even be painful. Some women also have dense, fibrous breast tissue. Feeling lumps or changes in your breasts may be more difficult if this is the case.
Signs and symptoms of a breast cyst include: A smooth, easily movable round or oval lump that may have smooth edges — which typically, though not always, indicates it's benign. Nipple discharge that may be clear, yellow, straw colored or dark brown. Breast pain or tenderness in the area of the breast lump.
The lymph nodes in the armpits are called axillary lymph nodes. Axillary lymph nodes are located near the breasts. This means they are often the first location to which breast cancer spreads if it moves beyond the breast tissue. The number of axillary lymph nodes can vary from person to person.