Breasts Examination Guidelines
By: Dr A Benjamin
Published by WSIC EBooks Ltd.
Copyright November 22, 2011 by WSIC Ebooks Ltd.
Smashwords Edition
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BREAST ABNORMALITIES (BREAST INFECTIONS)
HOW TO CARRY OUT THE EXAMINATION
2. WHEN TO DO THE EXAMINATION ?
3. WHY DO YOU NEED TO DO THE EXAMINATION ?
4. WHERE DO YOU NEED TO DO THE EXAMINATION?
5. WHO IS TO DO THE EXAMINATION?
6. HOW TO DO THE EXAMINATIONS.
A) GROUP ILLUSTRATIONS DIAGRAMS AND PICTURES (A & B)
B) INDIVIDUAL DIAGRAMS, ILLUSTRATIONS AND PICTURES (A-F)
Prevention is better than cure is an age long adage which is relevant any time any day.
We discussed breast not only because of the importance to human hood in particular that of womanhood whose asset should be preserved.
Breast infection is seen by many as cancer so any swollen or pain in or around the breast brought many to seek help from a health practitioner
Because the breast is subject to abnormal conditions, such as mastitis ( inflammation of the breast tissues, macromastia and gigantomastia (overdeveloped breasts), micromastia (underdeveloped breasts), breast cancer, et cetera, for a woman, the style-of-life factors that can minimize the risks of breast disease are regular breast-examinations by a physician, mammogram monitoring, personal breast examination, a balanced diet with a minimal animal-fat content (e.g. cholesterol), and regular physical exercise.
I carried out a survey in 1991 in Nairobi Kenya amongst the University female students. The survey was about Breast examination by each of these students. The result showed that very few of these female ever examined their breast. Only (10%) ten percent of them and only 5% saw the need for that while over 60% were willing to know how to do the examination themselves. I also carried out a similar survey in Kampala Uganda in 1995 and the result was the same. Last year, I carried out same survey in Nigeria Africa’s most populous country and I was shocked that only 5% of the university female students had carried out breast examination in their lifetime.
I felt worried about this and I decided that something must be done for females especially those in the developing world who cannot afford any surgery but can carryout personal breast examination as a way of early detection of any lump which may not be cancerous but can be diagnose early and managed when it is still very small. This is another way of managing infection and promoting healthy living
This is simply called a D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself)pocket book and is also a self help book that you can master within a short time and you will also teach others.
This is another example of the famous saying that KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. You are more confident when you ARE knowledgeable.
Lastly breast examination guideline main purpose is to detect the deadly breast cancer early so that it can be manage well before spreading.THIS BOOK IS ABOOK YOU CAN JUST PUT IN YOUR POCKET AND COULD BE CARRIED ANY WHERE
Good luck as you begin the journey to the knowledgeable world of preventing and promoting good health through your own hands.
BREAST (also known as Boobs/Mammary glands)
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.
Breast is also described by others as the two round soft part at the front of a woman’s body.
Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. However, at puberty, female sex hormones, mainly estrogen, promote breast development which does not occur in men due to the higher level of testosterone. As a result, women's breasts become far more prominent than those of men.
The Breast: cross-section scheme of the mammary gland.
1. Chest wall
2 Pectoralis muscles
3. Lobules
4. Nipple
5. Areola
6. Milk duct
7. Fatty tissue
8. Skin
Morphology
The human breast has two aspects — the functional and the anatomic.
I. The functional breast
The breast is an apocrine gland that produces milk to feed an infant child; for which the nipple of the breast is centred in (surrounded by) an areola (nipple-areola complex, NAC), the skin colour of which varies from pink to dark brown, and has many sebaceous glands. For its offspring-feeding functions as a mammary gland, the lactiferous ducts that produce the fatty breast milk are distributed throughout the body of the breast; approximately two-thirds of the lactiferous tissue is within 30-mm of the base of the nipple. In each breast, lactiferous ducts drain to the nipple; the milk-glands-to-fat ratio is 2:1 in a lactating woman, and 1:1 in a non-lactating woman. In addition to the milk glands, the breast also is composed of connective tissues (collagen, elastin), white fat, and the suspensory Cooper's ligaments. Sensation in the breast is provided by the peripheral nervous system innervation, by means of the front (anterior) and side (lateral) cutaneous branches of the fourth-, the fifth-, and the sixth intercostal nerves, while the T-4 nerve (Thoracic spinal nerve 4), which innervates the dermatomic area, supplies sensation to the nipple-areola complex.
II. The anatomic breast
A woman’s breasts overlay the pectoralis major muscles and usually extend from the level of the second rib to the level of the sixth rib in the front of the human rib cage; thus, the breasts cover much of the chest area and the chest walls. At the front of the chest, the breast tissue can extend from the clavicle (collarbone) to the middle of the sternum (breastbone). At the sides of the chest, the breast tissue can extend into the axilla (armpit), and can reach as far to the back as the latissimus dorsi muscle, extending from the lower back to the humerus bone (the longest bone of the upper arm). As a mammary gland, the breast is an inhomogeneous anatomic structure composed of layers of different types of tissue, among which predominate two types:
(i) adipose tissue and
(ii) glandular tissue, which effects the lactation functions of the breasts.
Morphologically, the breast is a cone with the base at the chest wall, and the apex at the nipple, the centre of the NAC (nipple-areola complex). The superficial tissue layer (superficial fascia) is separated from the skin by 0.5–2.5 cm of subcutaneous fat (adipose tissue). The suspensory Cooper’s ligaments are fibrous-tissue prolongations that radiate from the superficial fascia to the skin envelope. The adult breast contains 14–18 irregular lactiferous lobes that converge to the nipple, to ducts 2.0–4.5 mm in diameter; the milk ducts (lactiferous ducts) are immediately surrounded with dense connective tissue that functions as a support framework. The glandular tissue of the breast is biochemically supported with estrogen; thus, when a woman reaches menopause (cessation of menstruation) and her body estrogen levels decrease, the milk gland tissue then atrophies, withers, and disappears, resulting in a breast composed of adipose tissue, superficial fascia, suspensory ligaments, and the skin envelope.