From a physiological point of view, the breast is an important organ for women to nurture their offspring and embody their sexual characteristics, and it is also an important organ to reflect the beauty of women. There is an advertisement saying “It’s good to be a woman”, which reflects the nature of women’s love for beauty. And having firm, full and healthy breasts is what every woman dreams of.
From an aesthetic point of view, female breasts should be moderate in size and proportionate, the peak of the breast is high and elastic hemisphere, and accompanied by a healthy body and sound mental outlook, only then, can reflect the charm of female breasts. What kind of breast is the ideal breast? For whether a woman’s breasts are well developed, we generally focus on the following factors: shape; size; degree of firmness; position height; size of the nipples and areola area, and their color, etc. Our aesthetics and beauty experts believe that the beauty standards of young Chinese women’s breasts mainly include two aspects: the beauty of the parts of the breasts and the beauty of the form of the breasts.
1.The sign of breast beauty
Adult women who have not given birth have hemispherical breasts with elasticity. During late pregnancy and lactation, the breasts are significantly enlarged because of breast enlargement. When breastfeeding stops, the mammary glands shrink and the breasts become smaller. In older women, the breasts are saggy and droopy because of the decrease in elastic fibers. The breast is an important sign of female sexual maturity and is one of the most important sexually sensitive areas for women, as well as an organ that secretes milk and nurtures offspring.
According to the length of the breast protrusion, the breast shape can be divided into four types: disc type, hemisphere type, cone type and sagging type.
(1) Disc type: The length of the anterior projection of the breast is smaller than the radius around the base of the breast. The breasts are slightly elevated, and their shape resembles a flip-flopped disk (breast protrusion is about 2 to 3 cm), with a circumference difference of about 12 cm, which does not look plump and is not enough for the ideal breast beauty standard. Women disc-shaped breasts account for about fifteen percent, mostly in view of the early development of young women.
(2) hemispherical: this is a more common shape among Chinese women, the length of this shape of the breast protrusion is equal to the radius around the base of the breast (breast protrusion of about 4 to 6 cm), the circumference of the chest ring difference of about 14 cm, is more beautiful breasts. Its shape is like a hemisphere, with round, full breasts, which are the most beautiful breasts of women. About 50% of young women have hemispherical breasts.
(3) Cone type: the length of the anterior projection of the breast is greater than the radius around the base of the breast (the anterior projection of the breast is about 6-7 cm), and the circumference of the chest is about 16 cm. The angle between the breast and the chest wall is less than 90o, with the breast peak protruding and slightly upturned, showing its richness no matter what kind of clothing is worn.
(4) Sagging type: the length of the breast protrusion is greater and it is sagging.
From the medical aesthetic and cosmetic point of view, the first three kinds of breasts are normal and aesthetic; especially the hemispherical breast circumference radius high and equal, like a plump hemisphere, is the most beautiful breast form.
2, the structure of the breast
(1) The internal structure of the breast
The breast is mainly composed of glands, ducts, fatty tissue and fibrous tissue. The breast gland is composed of 15 to 20 lobes, each of which is divided into several lobules, and each lobule is composed of 10 to 100 vesicles. Each glandular lobe is divided into several lobules, and each lobule is composed of 10-100 vesicles. Many small milk ducts come together to form interlobular milk ducts, and several interlobular milk ducts come together to form a whole lobe of milk ducts, also known as milk ducts. There are 15 to 20 ducts, which are arranged in a radial pattern centered on the nipple and converge on the areola, with the opening at the nipple, called the foramen ovale. The milk ducts are narrower at the nipple and expand into a pot belly, called the sinus of the milk duct, which can store milk. The opening of the ducts is lined with squamous epithelial cells and the narrowing is lined with migrating epithelium. The fatty tissue in the breast is encapsulated in a capsule around the mammary gland, forming a hemispherical whole, which is called the fat capsule. The thickness of the fat capsule can vary greatly from individual to individual depending on age, childbirth and other reasons. The amount of fatty tissue is one of the most important factors in determining the size of the breast.
(2) External structure of the breast
The nipple is composed of dense connective tissue and smooth muscle. The smooth muscle is arranged in a circular or radial pattern. When there is mechanical stimulation, the smooth muscle contracts, causing the nipple to become erect and squeezing the ducts and sinuses to discharge their contents. The skin of the areola has hairs and glands. The glands are sweat glands, sebaceous glands and mammary glands. The sebaceous glands, also known as areolar glands, are large and superficial and secrete secretions that protect the skin, lubricate the nipple and the baby’s lips.
The mammary glands are located between the superficial and deep layers of the superficial subcutaneous fascia. The superficial fascia extends into the breast tissue to form lobular septa, one end of which is attached to the pectoralis fascia. The other end is attached to the skin and holds the mammary glands in the subcutaneous tissue of the breast. These fibrous connective tissues, which support and hold the breast in place, are called the suspensory ligaments of the breast. The deep superficial fascia is located on the deep side of the breast and is connected to the superficial pectoralis major fascia by loose tissue, which allows the breast to be both relatively fixed and somewhat mobile on the chest wall. Sometimes, some of the breast glands can penetrate through the lax tissue to the superficial layer of the pectoralis major muscle, therefore, the pectoralis major muscle fascia and muscle should be removed together with the radical surgery for breast cancer.
(3) Location of the breast
The breast is moderately positioned between the second and sixth ribs, with the parasternal line on the inner boundary and the anterior axillary line on the outer boundary. Breasts that grow in this position make people feel just right, dignified and elegant, gentle and lovely.
3, causing breast disease hidden danger
Breast to be plump and proud, more healthy, but there are many “inadvertent fault” in life in harming women’s breasts.
(1) mood, usually irritable or depressed will cause breast enlargement or breast fibroids, etc..
(2) diet, excessive eating some spicy stimulation, high-calorie ice cream, chocolate, etc. may cause fatty tumors and other breast diseases.
(3) Excessive corseting of underwear, which is simply a torture of their breasts, and strangulation and squeezing, which over time can cause poor blood flow to the breasts and compressive pain.
(4) Excessive smoking and alcohol, some data prove that women with a smoking history of more than 10 years are more than three times more likely to develop breast cancer than other women; those who drink one or more glasses of alcohol daily have more than 45% higher risk of breast cancer than those who rarely drink alcohol.
(5) Hormone, the active estrogen is closely related to breast fibroids, so this disease is more likely to occur in young women aged 20-25, mostly unilateral and solitary, with slow growth, and spherical lumps are often found in the breast unintentionally.
4.Self-examination of breast
Start from a sitting position. Any nipple inversion, skin depression and structural shape abnormality are clues of cancer deep in the breast. If the patient claps her hands on her head to contract the pectoral muscles the above signs will appear. When the woman is in the sitting position, it is easier to examine the supraclavicular, infraclavicular, and axillary lymph nodes, and finally to perform palpation while sitting, using joined fingers to touch the area under the nipple.
In the supine position, a pillow is placed under the ipsilateral breast and the ipsilateral hand is raised above the head so that the breast is evenly spread on the chest wall, making it easy for the fingers to reach the deeper part of the breast cancer. Palpation should be performed in a circular fashion, turning laterally from the nipple outward, and it is especially important to examine the breast that extends into the armpit.
Breast examination should first observe the development of the breast, whether both breasts are symmetrical, whether the size is similar, whether both nipples are at the same level, whether there is retraction of the nipple depression; whether there is erosion of the nipple and areola, what is the color of the breast skin, whether there is edema and orange peel-like changes, whether there is redness and swelling and other inflammatory manifestations, whether there is anger in the superficial veins of the breast area, etc.
The best time for examination: For women with normal menstruation, the 9th to 11th day after menstruation is the best time for breast examination, when estrogen has the least effect on the breast and the breast is in a relatively quiescent state, making it easy to detect lesions. Older women after menopause have less estrogen in their bodies and are less affected by endocrine hormones, so they can choose the time to visit the doctor at will.
If breast lesions are detected during breast self-examination or screening, you should seek medical consultation as soon as possible and follow the doctor’s instructions.
5.Breast health care
Breast health care should start from daily life, how to strengthen breast health care in life? According to the different physiological periods of women to carry out health education we can start from the following points.
(1) Adolescence. To strengthen physical exercise, especially pay attention to various postures of standing, standing, walking, walking and lying, develop good living habits, enhance nutrition, adhere to the daily morning and evening self-breast massage, scientific wearing of bras, do not girdle the chest.
(2) Menstrual period. Should maintain a relaxed and happy mood, regular life, moderate labor, do not panic, depression, not to take drugs and lead to normal endocrine dysfunction.
(3) Pregnancy. Should pay attention to the cleanliness and hygiene of the breasts, after 2-3 months of pregnancy, especially about 2 months before delivery, should be insisted on daily nipple and breast health care, with white wine or 70% alcohol scrub nipples, massage the breasts to enhance the resistance of the breasts and lactation function after delivery, pre-pregnancy and late pregnancy, should be optional size, elastic bra to hold up the breasts to avoid breast sagging or damage to breast tissue.
(4) Breastfeeding period. Before and after each feeding, you should gently wash your nipples and areolas with warm water to keep them locally clean. Pay attention to the baby’s oral hygiene to avoid the occurrence of mastitis. Maintain the correct breastfeeding posture, alternate nipple feeding, and let the baby suck the milk as much as possible at each feeding, and gently squeeze out the remaining milk if there is any. If the breast milk does not flow smoothly during breastfeeding or if there is a nodule or lump in a certain part of the breast, go to the hospital in time to see a doctor.
(5) Menopause. Menopause is an eventful time for breast cancer and is a high incidence period for breast cancer. For menopausal and old age women, they should pay high attention to breast health, and if any abnormality is found, they should go to the hospital for progressive breast examination in time for early diagnosis and early treatment of breast cancer.
6, cosmetic surgery of small breasts
Full and firm breasts is a very important element of female beauty, small or not firm breasts become a regret for many women. Breast augmentation is the main method to solve this regret. There are two types of breast augmentation: artificial breast implants and autologous breast implants. From the point of view of the current procedure, artificial breast implants are absolutely dominant.
Autologous tissue transplantation for breast augmentation mainly involves the application of free dermal fat and some rotary flaps, such as the upper abdominal rotary flap, etc. However, due to the limitation of the amount of tissue in the donor area, and the complexity and trauma of the operation, as well as the liquefaction and absorption and partial fibrosis of the implanted fat, it has been less used. At present, the well-developed various myocutaneous flap grafts are applied in breast reconstruction, which is a good choice for breast augmentation after certain mastectomies.
The main breast augmentation commonly used today is the silicone-encapsulated breast implant augmentation. The types of silicone capsule breast implants are: single capsule silicone capsule implants, filled silicone capsule implants, multi-capsule cavity silicone capsule implants, hairy surface silicone capsule implants, etc. The main surgical incisions commonly used are: axillary incision, areolar margin incision, and inframammary fold incision. They should be selected according to the individual differences of different patients.
7.Health education for different ages and different breast diseases
The incidence of mammary gland hyperplasia in adult women can be as high as 30% to 60%, of which about 10% require drug treatment. The peak incidence of mammary gland hyperplasia decreases significantly after the age of 20-49. The peak incidence of mammary fibroids is before the age of 30. Mastitis mostly occurs during lactation, mostly in women of childbearing age 20-30 years. The peak incidence of intraductal papilloma is between 30 and 49 years of age and is most often detected as non-lactating nipple discharge. The incidence of breast cancer increases from the age of 30 years, with a peak at the age of 40-49 years. Targeted health education is carried out according to the various breast diseases mentioned above to improve the effectiveness of education. In particular, prevention and control of breast cancer should be carried out with regular education and promotion for high-risk groups.
Women’s breast health education and health promotion is a systematic project that requires the attention of the whole society and the strong support of the government to create an atmosphere of concern for the physical health of the majority of women comrades; it requires the conscious participation of our medical staff’s women and the majority of women to continuously improve self-protection awareness. Do scientific exercise, regular life, reasonable diet, joyful upbeat, healthy and natural body, to achieve the purpose of health.