10.2 The Breast Flashcards
What structure anchors the breast to the chest wall?o
Cooper’s Suspensory Ligaments
What is the function of the breast?
- Protection
- Sensation
- Secretion
Name the vessels that supply the breast with blood. (3)
- External mammary (lateral thoracic) artery
- Internal mammary (thoracic) artery
- Intercostal arteries
How does the breast develop over time? (4)
- 6th-9th fetal life - breast buds
- Puberty - develops in response to oestrogen and progesterone
- First pregnancy - final maturation
- Menopause - regression
How does lactation occur? (5)
- Baby suckles
- Signals sent to hypothalamus
- Signals sent from hypothalamus to anterior and posterior pituitary
- Posterior pituitary produces oxytocin, anterior pituitary stops producing prolactin inhibiting hormone so prolactin is produced
- Mammary gland starts to produce milk
- Myoepithelial cells contract so milk can be squeezed through lactiferous ducts through nipple pores
Describe the mammary gland
Myoepithelial cells surrounding gland
Contract so that milk can be squeezed out of them
Through lactiferous ducts
Through nipple pores
Describe the Areolae gland
- Around nipple
- Secretes lipoid fluid so area doesn’t dry during breast feeding
- Target for infant, smell attracts infant
What is accessory breast tissue?
- Congenital condition
2. Abnormal breast tissue seen anywhere along the course of embryologic mammary streak (axilla to inguinal region)
What is Poland syndrome?
- Rare congenital condition
- Underdevelopment/absence of pectoralis muscle on one side of the body
- Webbing of fingers on ipsilateral side
Why is imaging of breast difficult in younger people?
Amount of fat in breast rises with age
In a young person, the fat is dense and cant see pathology
List some risk factors for breast cancer.
- Woman
- Age
- Family history
- Personal history
- Genetics
- Alcohol
- Radiation
- Obesity
- High socioeconomic class (drink alcohol, fewer children, children later in life, use birth control pills)
How to decrease risk for breast cancer? (3)
- First pregnancy before age of 30
- Breast feeding
- Exercise
Why is breast milk important?
Contains antibodies and nutrients for the first 6 moths of life
Treatments for cancer?
- To stage cancer, sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary dissection - checks if any cancer has reached these nodes
surgery
- wide localised excision - breast conserving procedure
- mastectomy
Adjuvant
- radiotherapy
- chemotherapy
- hormone therapy
What is the axillary region?
Under the arm pits
