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The Female Breast

A woman’s breasts are often the object of adoration, scrutiny, and obsession. In a perfect world, all of us would have erect, firm, perky breasts in the size that we want that would remain unaffected by age, gravity, and breastfeeding. Since this isn't the case, breast augmentation surgery can help you achieve this goal.

Most of us really don't care what our insides look like, or how the interior structure of a breast is made, or what muscle is named what. All we know is we want larger, firmer, better-looking breasts. But many people like to know the breast anatomy so that they can understand what will be happening to them if they get breast implants. If you don’t want this information, you can skip this section easily. If you do want it, it's here.

Breast Development

The breasts are organs of lactation called mammaries or mammae. They form the milk that provides sustenance to infants and small children, which may be why “mammae” and Mama are such similar words. Mammae are the organs that give the entire category of animals called mammals their name. All mammals have glands that produce milk, either through breasts or in collection organs called udders. Not so long ago, most women were either pregnant or nursing a child for most of their childbearing years.

Stages of Breast Development

The breasts begin to develop before birth in both male and female embryos. Breast tissue starts growing on an embryo in the uterus around 6 to 7 weeks after conception. The breasts begin as a ridge of breast tissue called the milk ridge that runs from the armpits to the groin. At about 8 or 9 weeks after conception, the milk ridge subsides in all areas (usually) except above the pectoral muscle. At about 16 weeks, cells begin grouping and form the glands of the breasts (called lobules). Although they are not yet formed, the tissues of the breasts are beginning to organize into the intricate ductwork that will perhaps feed the embryo's future child.

The nipple (also called the mammary papilla) and its surrounding disc of pigmented skin is called the areola complex. The dark area is the areola. (The plural is areolae.) The underlying muscle structure of the areolae begins to form at the same time as the breast tissue as the inner workings of the fetal breast will develop and define.

Humans, both men and women, almost always have two nipples and two breasts. Generally, a mammal has twice as many nipples or teats as the number of offspring it produces at one time. This is why cats and dogs, which produce litters of babies, have a double line of many nipples. The majority of human births are singletons, so we have two breasts. Occasionally, people are born with an extra one or more nipples that will usually be located along the line of the milk ridge. These are referred to as supernumerary nipples or superfluous nipples. An extra nipple may rarely develop into an extra breast, a type of breast augmentation that would make almost no one happy.

Nipples are erectile tissue. Each nipple and its areola contain many sensory nerves, which is why they are sensitive to stimuli, such as excitement or cold.

Both men and women have identical breast structure until puberty.

At puberty, the girls start to produce estrogen and then progesterone, which stimulates the sexual maturation process and the development of the breasts. The development of the breasts is usually one of the first visible signs of puberty and generally precedes a girl’s first period by about a year or so. The breasts will enlarge and develop over 2 to 4 years. In some girls, they may not reach their adult size until age 19 or 20. It is not uncommon for the breasts to develop asymmetrically. Usually, they even out in growth and resemble each other by the time they stop growing.

Further breast development can occur after puberty is over. These are usually associated with changes in the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body. These hormonal changes can happen naturally, during pregnancy and breastfeeding; because of the use of contraceptive pills, patches, or implants; or due to hormone supplementation. Some herbal products, notably wild yam preparations, contain natural chemicals similar to estrogen and can affect hormone levels.

Similarly, a man can start developing breasts due to a hormonal imbalance. The condition is called gynecomastia.

Anatomy of the Breast

In the diagram below, you can see a cross-section of a breast and chest, including the ribs and the muscles of the chest wall. In addition to glandular tissue, a breast contains fat, milk ducts, and ligaments.

The glands that produce milk and that make up breast tissue are arranged in lobes, which are subdivided into lobules. Each lobe has a thin tube called a milk duct that brings the milk to the nipple. There may be as many as 20 lobes in each breast.

Alt: breast anatomy diagram

Caption:

Cooper's ligament: the connective tissue that attaches the mammary gland to the overlying skin.
Pectoralis major: the larger chest muscle that arises from the collarbone, the sternum, most or all of the ribs, and the external oblique muscle and is inserted into the humerus bone of the upper arm. This is the largest muscle of the chest and it pulls the arm forward.
Pectoralis minor: A smaller chest muscle that lies beneath the pectoralis major, that arises from the third, fourth, and fifth ribs, and is inserted into the process of the shoulder blade. This muscle stabilizes the shoulder blade.
Connective tissue
Blood vessels
Ribs
Subcutaneous fat: fat that is just underneath the skin
Inframammary crease: the fold or crease under the breast where the breast meets the upper abdomen.
Breast fat: fatty tissue found above the glandular tissue of the breast.
Ducts: a duct is any tube that carries the secretion of a gland. In the breast, the ducts are lactiferous ducts or milk ducts
Glandular tissue
Nipple: the protuberance of the mammary gland that contains the openings of the milk ducts open and from which milk is drawn
Lobules: the part of the breast where milk is produced. The lobules are gathered into lobes.
Breast envelope: the skin that surrounds the structure of the breast.

The breast is attached to the chest wall by the breast envelope and connective tissue, and the Cooper's ligaments. During any surgery on the breast, care must be taken so as not to sever these ligaments. If the connective tissue or ligaments are disrupted, the breasts can droop.

Breast Size

Breast size can vary greatly from person to person. Usually breast size depends on such variables as the amount of breast tissue, body fat percentage, heredity, and if you have been pregnant. Breasts usually enlarge during pregnancy and stay enlarged until after breastfeeding is stopped. Then they usually shrink, a process called involution.

Other changes in breast size can result from having breastfed, estrogen and progesterone supplementation, hormonal disorders, menopause, and age. The changes in hormone levels that occur naturally during the menstrual period often cause the breasts to change in size. Some women have to have two sets of bras, once for certain weeks of the month and one for the rest of the time. Luckily, most of don’t change that much.

As we age our skin thins and we lose breast volume as the lobules shrink due to a decrease in hormones. With age, we also tend to lose body fat in areas where we want it, and seem to somehow selectively gain it where we do not. C'est la vie.

Breast Symmetry

Virtually all women have breasts that are not symmetrical. The two sides of the body are never perfectly symmetrical. Most women have breast of slightly different sizes, the same way that they have feet and hands of slightly different sizes. My breasts were not symmetrical and it was corrected with breast implants! If you have breasts that are visibly asymmetrical, you can have the problem corrected surgically, too.

Your nipples also may not exactly match. The areolae complex may be large, small, nonexistent, one larger than the other, be bumpy, or have hair growth. Breasts are not usually perfect naturally, but with breast augmentation surgery, they can be improved.

We Are All Different

We all want perfect breasts, but what constitutes a perfect breast will differ from person to person. I think we all have an idea of what looks good to ourselves, but usually it is fuller, perkier breasts that appeal to many of us. Perky, full breasts are a sign of vitality and youth. However, I think that we should be allowed to have a preference for any breast shape we desire. Since most breast shapes can be achieved surgically, then get whatever pleases you. Life is too short to be self-conscious about something that can be changed.