Structure and anatomy of the female breast
女性乳房的结构和解剖
During this tutorial, we'll look at the structures that make up the female breast as well as some related and surrounding structures that you can see in this image here.
在这个教程中，我们将学习女性乳房的构成结构，以及一些相关的周围组织，如图所示。
So in this illustration, we can see a view of the breast from the side rather than an anterior view and we can see structures such as the nipple, the areola, the lactiferous ducts along with the mammary glands and the surrounding adipose tissue.
在这张图片上，我们可以看到乳房的侧视图，而不是前视图，我们可以看到乳头、乳晕、乳腺管，以及乳腺和周围脂肪组织等结构。
We can also see the vascular supply and the underlying muscles such as pectoralis major and the intercostal muscles.
我们也可以看到乳房的血供和下面的肌肉，如胸大肌和肋间肌。
Once we've discussed these structures, we'll look at some clinical notes related to the female breast. But first let me give you an introduction to the female breast.
在讨论这些结构之后，我们将回顾一些乳腺相关的临床知识点。但首先，我们来介绍一下女性的乳房。
The breasts are secondary sex characteristic of females but are also present in a rudimentary or underdeveloped form in males. The breasts are the most prominent superficial structures in the anterior thoracic wall especially in women.
乳房是女性的第二性征，但是，男性也会表现为乳房发育不全。乳房是胸前壁（特别是女性）最突出的浅表结构。
Both female and male breasts are derived from the same embryological tissues but breasts develop more in females during puberty due to the production of estrogens – the sex hormones which stimulate breast development along with the growth hormone.
男性和女性的乳房都来源于相同的胚胎组织，但是由于青春期性激素（刺激乳房发育的激素）和生长激素分泌，女性乳房的生长速度更快。
One of the main functions of the female breast is to produce and secrete milk for infants. Milk production by the female breast is known as lactation.
女性乳房的主要功能之一是为新生儿产生和分泌乳汁。女性乳房产生乳汁称为泌乳。
Milk is released from the breast via the nipple which is a small projection of skin in the middle of the breast usually overlying the fourth intercostal space which is this space here. The nipple is surrounded by a circular pigmented area known as the areola.
乳汁通过乳头从乳房排出，乳头是乳房中央的皮肤小突起，通常位于第四肋间隙上，如图所示。乳头周围的环形色素沉着区域是乳晕。
The base of the breast is located from near the midline of the chest to the midaxillary line and from the second to sixth ribs. It overlies the pectoralis major muscle and part of the serratus anterior muscle. It also overlies the rectus sheath and the external oblique muscles.
乳房底部位于胸部中线附近到腋中线，以及第2~6肋间。它在胸大肌和部分前锯肌上面，也位于腹直肌鞘和腹外斜肌上。
Milk is transported to the nipple by the lactiferous ducts which we can see here highlighted in green. The lactiferous ducts are lined by columnar epithelium and are supported by myoepithelial cells.
乳汁通过乳腺管输送到乳头，如图中绿色区域所示。乳腺管内壁是柱状上皮组织，由肌上皮细胞支撑。
It's important to note that the female breast usually contains between 5 and 15 ducts and these ducts are only involved in milk transport. It was previously believed that the breasts contained a higher number of ducts and were also involved in milk storage.
大家需要注意，女性乳房通常包含 5~15 条乳腺管，这些乳腺管只参与乳汁输送。以前，有人认为，乳房包含更多地乳腺管，它们也参与乳汁储存。
It was believed that the milk was stored in the dilation of the duct known as the lactiferous sinus, however, more recent studies have found that this is in fact incorrect.
有人认为，乳汁储存在乳腺管扩张处，即输乳管窦，然而，最新的研究发现，事实并非如此。
When a woman is not lactating, the lactiferous ducts are often blocked by a keratin plug which prevents bacteria from entering the ducts and therefore helps prevent infection.
如果女性不在哺乳期，乳腺管通常被角蛋白栓阻隔，从而防止细胞进入乳腺管，帮助预防感染。
At the end of the lactiferous ducts, we can see clusters of alveoli known as lobules. These lobules are considered exocrine glands of the breast and they are the site of milk production and excretion in the breast.
在乳腺管末端，我们可以看到称为乳腺小叶的腺泡簇。乳腺小叶是乳房的外分泌腺，是乳汁产生和分泌的场所。
Lactiferous
（图源：太帅图库）
Embryological
