What does the female breast consist of?

Each woman, in order to prevent the development of diseases of the mammary glands, should know how the female breast is made and what it consists of.

Features of the structure

The process of formation and development of the breast occurs as the girl grows up. Thus, during the period of puberty in the mammary glands, the milk ducts begin to develop, which only partially penetrate directly into the body of the mammary gland.

As is known, the main function of the breast in the female, as in all mammals, is the breastfeeding of the offspring with breast milk.

Each breast of a woman has the same composition and a rather complex device. It consists of 15-20 lobules and a network of milk ducts, which in its appearance is very similar to a bunch of grapes, where the glands play the role of berries, and the stems are the duct network. When palpation of a healthy breast, the mammary glands are probed as small nodules or cones, which are most easily detected before menstruation, as the chest at this point slightly swells.

The space between the individual lobes of the mammary glands is filled with both connective and fatty tissues. At the same time, the breast of a young girl contains more glandular tissue, which explains its elasticity. If the female breast is rather soft, then this indirectly indicates the predominance of fatty tissue in it.

The thoracic gland itself is practically devoid of muscles, except for the nipples. All of it is completely permeated with a large number of interlaced Cooper ligaments, which form the so-called flexible framework of the female breast.

Areola

The dark area around the nipple is called the areola. It gradually increases in size with the growth of the breast. As a rule, in this area there are also small tubercles - glands of Montgomery. Their role is to develop a secret that protects the nipple from drying and cracking.

Nipple

The nipple, in its The queue has several small holes through which milk is released during lactation. Normally it is round or has a cylindrical shape. In some cases, the nipple of the female breast can be flat or pulled inward, which does not interfere with the feeding, in which the baby pulls it.

A feature of the female breast is that it is often not symmetrical. One of the mammary glands may have a smaller size or be slightly lower in relation to the other.

The state of the female breast and its appearance changes with age and during lactation , after termination of which the breast changes its shape.