What is the normal thickness of breast glands?

Breasts are not unfamiliar to women because they always hear people talk about breast diseases. In fact, breast disease is just a general term. There are many types of breast diseases, among which mastitis is the most representative. The most serious one is breast cancer. When I went to the hospital for a breast examination, the test report showed the words "normal breast gland thickness". So, what is the normal breast gland thickness?

There is no normal value for this. It depends on the person; the differences between each person are really huge. It can be said that it doesn’t matter how thick the gland is. This is not the main focus of color ultrasound. What should be paid attention to is the presence of nodules and the condition of the axillary lymph nodes.

The breast glands are simply called mammary glands. The mammary gland is located between the superficial and deep layers of the subcutaneous superficial fascia. The superficial fascia extends into the breast tissue to form cord-like lobular septa, one end of which is connected to the pectoralis muscle fascia and the other end is connected to the skin, fixing the mammary gland in the subcutaneous tissue of the chest. These fibrous connective tissues that support and hold the breast in place are called the suspensory ligaments of the breast or Coopers' ligaments. The deep layer of the superficial fascia is located deep in the breast and is connected to the superficial layer of the pectoralis major fascia by loose tissue, which is called the retromammary space. It can make the breast relatively fixed while allowing a certain degree of mobility on the chest wall. Sometimes, part of the breast gland can pass through the loose tissue and penetrate into the superficial layer of the pectoralis major muscle. Therefore, during radical mastectomy, the pectoralis major muscle fascia and muscle should be removed together. Fibrous connective tissue extends between the breast tissue, forming many compartments. Therefore, in acute mastitis, the abscess cavity is often divided into several parts. These fibrous connective tissues stabilize the breasts and prevent them from sagging when a person stands, so they are called suspensory ligaments of the breasts. When you get breast cancer, the tumor can invade this ligament and cause it to shrink, so the breast skin becomes sunken and forms an "orange peel" appearance.

The mammary gland is composed of 15 to 20 lobes, each lobe is divided into several lobules, and each lobule is composed of 10 to 100 alveoli. These alveoli are closely arranged around the small milk ducts, and the openings of the alveoli are connected to the small milk ducts.