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CancerQuest > Introduction to Patient Information > Introduction to Cancer by Type > Breast Cancer: Introduction > Anatomy of the Breast

Anatomy of the Breast

In women, the breasts are made up of milk-producing glands (lobules), milk ducts, and connective tissue (stroma). Milk is produced by cells in the lobules and moves from these sacs, through the mammary ducts, to the nipple. Most breast cancers originate in mammary ducts.⁽¹⁾

 

 

 

Blood and lymphatic vessels are found within the stroma surrounding the lobules and ducts:

• Blood vessels are part of the circulatory system. They supply oxygen and nutrients to and remove waste from the cells of the breast.
• Lymphatic vessels are part of a large network termed the lymphatic system. These vessels collect and carry fluid and cells from the tissues of the body. Smaller lymphatic vessels merge with larger ones, as streams merge into a river. Large vessels empty into grape-like clusters of lymphatic tissue called lymph nodes. The lymphatic vessels in the breast carry lymphatic fluid to a mass of lymph nodes located near the underarm.

References for this page:

1. What is Breast Cancer? American Cancer Society (accessed October 2010). [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_is_breast_cancer_5.asp]