Breast Anatomy
Nature has given a lot of things to human of which he or she should be thankful. The human body is composed of complex but functional and quite beneficial organs. Majority of the organs of male and female are same except for the reproductive and sexual organs. The breasts, the most important female organ is also present in males but are underdeveloped as they have no function to perform. In females, the breasts are symbols of femininity and fertility.
The anatomy of a female breast is more complicated than a man. The female breasts are tear shaped glands that in adult woman produces milk in late pregnancy and at the time of delivery. The breasts are attached to the front of wall of the chest on left and the right side of the breastbone by ligaments. The glands are surrounded by layer of fats and do not have any muscular tissues and these fats cover the whole breast.
The hormones are responsible for the proper working of the breast, the size and milk production. There are three important hormones; the estrogen, progesterone and prolactin that are mainly responsible for bringing changes in the uterus and the breast during menstrual cycle. There are 15-20 lobes in each breast that is arranged in a circular manner. In fact, the size and the shape of the breasts is due to fats that cover the lobes. There are lobules at the back of each lobe behind which are the tiny bulb like sacs that produces milk when they receive a hormonal signal. The nursing and feeding cause enlargement in the size of the breasts. The size also increases with age and becomes more prominent. The size of the breasts shrinks after menopause i.e. at the end of menstruation. The anatomy of male breasts is identical to that of female breasts but the male breasts are less prominent and smaller. They do have mammary glands but remain undeveloped. In some males, the size of the breasts is enlarged due to the abnormality in hormones.
An ultrasound is the imaging that is used medically in order to see the picture of the internal parts of the organs. In terms of breast anatomy, ultrasound was used to see the difference between a cyst and a solid mass. The latest advancement in the ultrasound of breast is a three dimensional ultrasound of the breast as it can show the lesions at different angles. The images are becoming more and more clearer due to advancement in technology. Since these are to serve humanity, so whenever a woman feels any change in her breast she should immediately take help of the tools to get the diagnosis as early as possible. You can find a lot of breast anatomy pictures on the web. Some can be seen at Breast Cancer.Org showing the details of the parts of the breasts with labeling.
