Breast

Breast – the unpaired extended bone with slightly convex front part and a concave back surface.

Breast structure

The breast is located in department of a front wall of a thorax. It consists of three parts: handles, body and xiphoidal shoot. All three parts are connected among themselves by means of cartilaginous layers which ossify with age.

The handle of a breast is its widest part. From above she is more fat, from below is thinner, and at the very bottom has jugular cutting at the upper edge which is easy for probing through skin. On each side jugular cutting there are clavicular cuttings – places in which the breast connects to the sternal ends of clavicles.

A little lower, on a side edge, cutting of the first edge - a junction with a cartilage of the first edge is located. It is possible to see small deepening a little more below – an upper part of costal cutting of the second edge. The lower part of this cutting is directly on a midsternum.

The midsternum is longer than the handle almost three times, but already it. At women the body is shorter, than at men.

In a front part it is possible to see traces of merge of parts of a breast in the course of embryonic development. They look as cross, poorly noticeable lines.

The connecting cartilage of the upper edge of a body with bottom edge of the handle is called a handle synchondrosis. The handle and a body connect, forming stupid, behind an open corner which is at the level of connection of the second edge. It is easy to probe it through skin.

From a side part of a midsternum there are two incomplete and four full costal cuttings – junctions of edges with cartilages (from the second on the seventh). One incomplete cutting is located from above a side part of a breast and corresponds to a cartilage of the second edge, another – from below a side part and corresponds to a cartilage of the seventh edge. Between them four full cuttings corresponding to the third, fourth, fifth and sixth edges are located.

The parts of side departments which are between two next costal cuttings have an appearance of semi-lunar deepenings.

The shortest part of a breast is the xiphoidal shoot. It can differ in a form and the size, to have an opening in the middle or the doubled top. The dulled or its acute top can be turned both forward, and back. In an upper part of side department of a shoot there is an incomplete cutting connecting to a cartilage of the seventh edge.

Together with a body the xiphoidal shoot forms a synchondrosis of a xiphoidal shoot. In old age the xiphoidal shoot ossifies and grows together with a midsternum.

Sometimes higher handles, in the middle of nadpodjyazychny group of muscles of a breast or in a medial leg of a clavicular and mastoidal muscle of a breast are located from one to three nagrudinny bones which connect to its handle.

The main muscle of a breast is the big pectoral muscle which begins in the medial surface of a clavicle, passes through a body and the handle of a breast, and also a direct muscle of a stomach.

Pain and burning in a breast

Most often breast pain is connected with damage of internals and its osteoarticular structures, and also with psychogenic diseases. Often breast pain is a symptom of a myocardial infarction, stenocardia, a thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery, pneumonia, diseases of bodies of digestive tract, a prolapse of the mitral valve, pleurisy stratifying aortic aneurysms, a malignant new growth of slight, phrenic abscess.

Pain and burning in a breast is the integral symptom:

• Digestive tract diseases (stomach ulcer, gastroesophageal disease);
• Diseases of bronchopulmonary system;
• Diseases of cardiovascular system;
• Blood diseases;
• Injuries and fractures of a breast.

In addition, perhaps psychogenic origin of pains in a breast (hysteria, vegeto-vascular dystonia).

Breast fracture

In traumatology the fracture of a breast meets rather seldom. As a rule, the change happens as a result of strong direct stroke in a breast, at the road accident (as a result of blow of a thorax about a steering column) or as a result of strong squeezing of a thorax. Often the change is followed by the shift of fragments. The change with shift is characterized by cave-in of the center of a breast inside.

Breast fracture symptoms

The most explicit symptom of a change is pain in the damaged place which amplifies at breath. In the field of a change it is possible to see hemorrhage and hypostasis. The palpation is very painful, and at some patients it is possible to probe breast fragments.

The change without shift can not cause strong pain, especially, if the injury is combined with numerous fractures of edges.

The change with the strong shift of fragments can damage bodies of a thorax. As a result of injury of lungs or a pleura pheumothorax (air accumulation) or a hemothorax (blood accumulation) in a thorax can develop. Such complications pose serious hazard to life of the patient and demand immediate medical intervention.