What are breasts?

Breasts are part of the female sexual and male sexual anatomy. In women, breasts are functional (for milk production) and sexual (erotic). In men, they are not functional at all. Their breasts are still pleasurable, though.

The parts of your breasts that can be seen are your nipples and areolas. Most individuals are born with two breasts.

What are the three layers of the woman's breast?

There are several types of tissue that make up the female breasts. Muscles keep your breasts in place against your ribs. The three types of breast tissue are:

Glandular: It is also referred to as lobules, glandular tissue secretes milk for lactation.
Fibrous or connective: It gives support to glandular and fatty breasts.
Fatty: This occupies the area between glandular and connective tissue and regulates your breast size.

Males possess glandular tissue and fatty tissue for gynecomastia. They possess rudimentary milk ducts in the glandular tissue.

What is the anatomy of the breasts?

There are many different parts of female breast anatomy, including:

Adipose tissue: Your breast is mostly made up of fat tissue (adipose tissue). It goes from your collarbone to your armpit and along your ribcage.
Lobes: There are 15 to 20 lobes, or segments, in each of your breasts. They go around your nipple, like the spokes of a wheel.
Glandular tissue (lobules): These tiny bits of tissue found in lobes contain small bulb-shaped glands at the tip which secrete milk.
Milk (mammary) ducts: Small tubes, or ducts, milk is transported from glandular tissue (lobules) to your nipples.
Nipples: Your nipple is in the center of your areola. Each nipple contains about nine milk ducts, and also hundreds of nerves.
Areolae: Your areola is the darker circular skin that surrounds your nipple. Areolae have glands called Montgomery's glands that secrete a lubricating oil. The lubricating oil prevents your nipple and skin from rubbing against each other while breastfeeding.
Blood vessels: Blood vessels circulate blood throughout your breasts, chest and body.
Lymph vessels: Part of your lymph system, lymph vessels carry lymph, a fluid that supports your immune system to combat infection. Lymph vessels are joined to lymph nodes, which are located under your arm, in your chest and elsewhere.
Lymph nodes: Tiny organs used to combat infection.
Nerves: Nipples have hundreds of nerve endings and are thus extremely sensitive to touch.

What is the anatomy of a male breast?

There are also male breasts. During puberty, the hormone testosterone usually keeps breasts from developing. There are nipples and areolae on the outside, and small milk ducts but no gland tissue on the inside. Problems with male breasts can be gynecomastia, an abnormality that causes breasts to enlarge, and very, very rarely, breast cancer.

What are the physiological functions of the breast?

Female hormones — that is, estrogen, progesterone and prolactin — regulate the growth and upkeep of breasts. The role of breasts is to secrete breast milk.

Estrogen causes milk ducts to elongate and branch off to the sides to carry more milk.

Prolactin initiates progesterone secretion and readies glands for milk manufacture.

Progesterone enlarges and multiplies lobules and prepares them for milk production. Progesterone dilates blood vessels and breast tissue following ovulation.

Oxytocin helps release (or expel) breast milk.

Which conditions and diseases affect breast anatomy?

Breast cancer poses the most risk to breast health. Approximately 1 in 13 women will get breast cancer during her lifetime. Other conditions which impact breast health are:

Benign (noncancerous) breast disease
Breast cysts
Breast lumps
Breast pain (mastalgia)
Breast rash
Fibrocystic breast changes (tenderness and noncancerous lumps)
Mammary duct ectasia (inflamed milk ducts)
Mastitis (breast infection)
Nipple discharge

What are dense breasts?

Your mammogram report can say that you have dense breasts. Dense breasts contain more gland and fibrous tissue and less fat. Both dense breast tissue and tumors appear white on mammograms, so it becomes harder to find breast cancer. Up to half of all women aged 40 to 74 years have dense breasts. The condition is not related to breast size, appearance or feel. If you have extremely dense breasts, you have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. Discuss your risk of breast cancer with your health care provider in relation to breast density.

How can you maintain healthy breasts?

Because breast cancer is such a serious issue, talk to a health care provider about how and when to get mammograms. Recommendations also vary depending on risk factors, such as family or personal health history. Breast self-exams can make you aware of the look and feel of your breasts so that you will be more likely to notice changes in your breasts.

What is the most tender part of the breast?

Your nipples contain hundreds of nerve endings. Generally, a woman's breast is more sensitive to touch due to hormones. But men also derive pleasure from the nerve endings in the nipples.

When do I need to call my doctor?

You should see a doctor if you have:

Newly discovered lump in your breast
Nipple discharge
Breast pain
Change in the shape or texture of your breast or skin
Abrupt turning in of nipple (inverted nipple)
Breast rash

If one of your close family members has developed breast cancer or ovarian cancer at an age less than 50 years, consult a doctor about genetic testing or screening with mammography at an earlier age.