Breast

Medical Reviewing Author: Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD

• What is the breast?
• How is the mammary gland designed?
• How are human breasts different than other primates?
• What happens to the breasts in pregnancy?
• What do the nipples and surrounding pigmented tissue function?
• What are other internal features of the breast?
• What are cosmetic aspects of the breast?
• How does breast tissue develop in the fetus?

What is the breast?

The breast refers generally to the front of the chest and medically specifically to the mammary gland.

(The word "mammary" comes from "mamma," the Greek and Latin word for the breast, which derives from the cry "mama" uttered by infants and young children, sometimes meaning "I want to feed at the breast.")

How is the mammary gland designed?

The mammary gland is a milk-producing structure that is composed largely of fat cells (cells capable of storing fat). The fat deposits are laid down in the breast under the influence of the female hormone, estrogen. Just as the surge of estrogens at adolescence encourages this process, androgens, such as testosterone, discourage it.

Within the mammary gland there is a complex network of branching ducts (tubes or channels). These ducts exit from sac-like structures called lobules.

The lobules in the breast are the glands that can produce milk in females (or rarely in males) given the appropriate hormonal stimulation.

The breast ducts transport milk from the lobules out to the nipple. The ducts exit from the breast at the nipple.

How are human breasts different than other primates?

Human breasts are unlike those of other primates. In other primates, the breasts grow only when the female is producing milk (lactating). When the primate female has weaned her young, her breasts flatten back down. In humans, the breasts develop at adolescence usually well before any pregnancy and the breasts stay enlarged throughout the remainder of life.

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