Female Breasts

The breast is a glandular organ that produces milk after pregnancy. Your breast tissue extends beyond the breast mound and includes the area from the middle of your chest out to your armpit, up to your collarbone and down to your bra line. Your chest muscles and ribs are underneath the breasts. There are no muscles in your breasts.

Breast is composed of fatty tissues and glandular tissues. Glandular tissues, as shown in the diagram on the left, consist of multiple lobules of milk producing cells which all empty their contents into the ducts. The ducts then all converge at the nipple. Breast glandular tissue is in fact a modified sweat gland.

Breast changes

Your breasts are continually changing. The major stages of growth, development and change occur during puberty, pregnancy, breast-feeding and menopause.

Increased hormone production during puberty triggers the growth of breast tissue.

Increasing age and weight changes can affect the shape, size and feel of your breasts.

During adolescence breasts can often be quite lumpy. Young women's breasts are usually dense and fibrous because there is more glandular tissue than fatty tissue.

You may find that your breasts feel more tender and lumpy just before your monthly period. These cyclic changes are normal and due to the body's response to changes in the level of the female hormone, oestrogen. The tenderness and lumpiness usually disappears after your period. If you take the contraceptive pill you may experience extra lumpiness or tenderness.

As you get older your breasts become less glandular and more fatty. This tends to make your breasts softer and less lumpy, although individual women vary greatly and you may retain some natural lumpiness as you get older.