RT Book, Section
A1 Kimmick, Gretchen G.
A1 Muss, Hyman B.
A2 Halter, Jeffrey B.
A2 Ouslander, Joseph G.
A2 Tinetti, Mary E.
A2 Studenski, Stephanie
A2 High, Kevin P.
A2 Asthana, Sanjay
SR Print(0)
ID 5129678
T1 Chapter 95. Breast Disease
T2 Hazzard's Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, 6e
YR 2009
FD 2009
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-148872-3
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=5129678
RD 2022/05/26
AB The  breast,  or  mammary  gland,  is  a  fibrofatty  organ  that  produces  all  the  necessary  nutrients  for  a  newborn.  In  women  of  childbearing  age,  the  breast  responds  to  cyclic  hormone  production  and  contains  an  abundance  of  epithelial  structures  and  stroma  that  enable  the  production  of  milk.  In  postmenopausal  women,  declining  ovarian  function  in  late  menopause  leads  to  regression  of  these  structures.  The  postmenopausal  breast  contains  a  ductal  system,  but  the  lobules  shrink  and  collapse,  leaving  an  organ  that  is  composed  primarily  of  fat.  While  a  breast  lump  in  a  premenopausal  woman  is  likely  to  be  a  benign  problem  related  to  cyclic  hormonal  changes,  in  a  postmenopausal  woman,  this  is  not  the  case  and  the  most  important  breast  disease  is  cancer.