What is a breast examination?

As a woman, your physical health is related to the health of the whole family. Take the breast for example. If the breast has some disease, it will definitely affect breastfeeding. How to protect breast health? First of all, we must develop good living habits. Secondly, we must go to the hospital for regular check-ups, especially for breast health. What kind of examination is performed in the hospital?

Clinical physical examination is an essential part of early detection of breast cancer, because only through breast examination can suspicious cases be detected and appropriate auxiliary examinations be selected. Without this step, any advanced inspection equipment will not be able to perform to its full potential. The clinical manifestations of early breast cancer are not very typical. During clinical examination, lumps cannot be used as the essential primary sign for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Some early breast cancers only show thickening of the gland, hardening of the texture, nipple discharge, nipple erosion, mild nipple retraction, mild skin depression or edema, and breast pain after menopause. Careful examination is required to prevent missed diagnosis.

Inspection method

1. Body Position

The patient sits upright with his arms hanging naturally or placed on his knees, fully exposing both breasts to facilitate comparison between the two sides. Examination should be done under bright light to avoid missing subtle skin changes. For enlarged and sagging breasts, sitting examination is not comprehensive enough, especially when the lump is small and located deep in the breast. After the sitting examination, a supine examination should be performed. A pillow should be placed under the shoulders and back to lift the chest appropriately, so that the breast is in a relatively flat state and small lumps are not easily missed.

2. Best time

For women with normal menstruation, the best time to examine the breast is 9 to 11 days after menarche. At this time, the effect of estrogen on the breast is minimal, the breast is in a relatively static state, and lesions are easy to detect.

Check content

1. Visual examination

(1) Appearance: First, you should observe the development of the breasts and whether the breasts on both sides are symmetrical and similar in size.

(2) Skin: Observe the skin for redness, edema, ulceration, "orange peel" changes, varicose veins, etc.

(3) Nipple: Observe whether the nipples on both sides are at the same level, whether the nipples are retracted or sunken, and whether the nipples and areolas are eroded or desquamated.

2. Palpation

(1) Breast palpation: The examiner should use the palm of the finger to palpate. Do not squeeze the breast tissue with the fingers, otherwise the breast tissue may be mistaken for a lump. A comprehensive examination should be performed on the upper outer (including the tail of the axilla), lower outer, lower inner, upper inner quadrants and the central area of ​​the breast in sequence. Check the healthy side first, then the affected side. After discovering a breast lump, you should pay attention to the size, hardness, smoothness of the surface, clear boundaries and mobility of the lump. Gently pinch the skin on the surface of the lump to see if the lump is adhered to the skin. Finally, gently squeeze the nipple to see if there is any discharge. If there is discharge, squeeze the areola around it in turn and record which milk duct the discharge comes from.

(2) Axillary palpation: Axillary lymph nodes are divided into four groups and should be examined in sequence. The examiner faces the patient and presses his left armpit with his right hand and his right armpit with his left hand. First, let the patient abduct his upper limbs, reach into the top of his armpit, press the palm of his fingers against the patient's chest wall, then ask the patient to relax his upper limbs and place them on the examiner's forearm. Use gentle movements to check the central group of lymph nodes from top to bottom from the top of the armpit. Then turn the palm of your fingers to the anterior wall of the armpit and check the pectoralis group lymph nodes deep to the pectoralis major muscle. When examining the subscapular lymph nodes, it is advisable to stand behind the patient and touch the anterior and medial side of the latissimus dorsi muscle. Finally, examine the subclavian and supraclavicular lymph nodes.