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Breast Health Glossary

Following are some terms commonly used when discussing breast health, provided for your convenience:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Atypical Hyperplasia:
Large numbers of abnormal cells

Axillary Lymphadenectomy:
Surgical removal of the entire axillary lymph node system (typically about 20 nodes). Surgery performed immediately following the lumpectomy or mastectomy procedure. Excised lymph nodes are sent to pathology for evaluation.

Axilliary Lymph Nodes:
Lymph nodes in the armpit area

Benign:
Non-malignant type of neoplasm (or abnormal tissue growth)

Biopsy:
The process of removing tissue for diagnostic examination

Breast Abscess:
Collection of pus resulting from an infection

Breast Conservation:
Excision of a tumor and a margin of healthy tissue (can be described as lumpectomy) without removal of the entire breast (mastectomy)

BSE:
Breast Self Examination

Bulb:
Subdivision of lobules

Calcifications:
Tiny mineral deposits in the breast (considered Micro-calcifications if <1/50 of an inch)

Carcinoma:
Any of various types of abnormal tissue growth, identified histologically on the basis of invasiveness and cell growth

CBE:
Clinical Breast Examination

Cooper’s Ligament:
Connective tissue, which attaches the breast structures to the skin

Core Needle Biopsy:
Removal of a small cylinder-shaped tissue sample from a breast lesion

Cyst:
An abnormal sac containing fluid, gas, or a semisolid material

Ducts:
Tubular structures that drain the mammary gland, opening at the nipple

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS):
Non-invasive form of breast cancer where the abnormal cell growth is limited to inside of the breast ducts

Excisional Biopsy:
Surgical removal of the breast tumor and a surrounding margin of normal breast tissue

Fibroadenoma (FA):
Benign tissue growth in the breast composed of both structural and glandular tissue

Fibrocystic Condition:
Benign condition characterized by an abnormal increase in the fibrous and glandular tissues of the breast

Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA):
Removal of fluid or suspension of cells through a small needle

Incisional Biopsy:
Surgical removal of only part of a breast lesion

Intraductal Carcinoma:
Cancer of the breast that forms in and is restricted to the ducts

Intraductal Papilloma:
Benign, small, non-palpable, tissue growth in the breast duct, frequently causing bleeding from the nipple

Infiltrative Carcinoma:
Category that describes cancer that has spread beyond the breast duct membrane

Infiltrative Ductal Carcinoma (IDC):
Cancer growth that has broken through the membrane of the duct into the fatty tissue of the breast

Infiltrative Lobular Carcinoma (ILC):
Invasive cancer that starts in the milk producing glands

Inflammatory Breast Cancer:
Rare type of invasive breast cancer which makes the breast look red and feel warm

Lobes:
The 15-20 separate portions of the mammary gland connected together by ducts

Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS):
Non-invasive cancer which begins in the milk producing glands but does not penetrate through the wall of the lobules. Also considered as not a true cancer

Lobule:
Subdivision of lobes

Lumpectomy:
Removal of either a benign or malignant lesion from the breast with the preservation of the essential anatomy of the breast

Lymphedema:
Chronic swelling of the arm tends to develop gradually in 15% to 20% of breast cancer patients who have lymph nodes removed.

Lymph Nodes:
Glands throughout the body which help defend against bacteria

Malignant:
Cancerous; can invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body

Mammography:
Screening or diagnostic examination of the breast via X-ray

Mastitis:
Infection of the breast

Medullary Carcinoma:
Special type of infiltrating breast cancer

Metastasis:
Spread of cancer to one or more organs, usually through the blood stream

Modified Radical Mastectomy:
Removal of the entire breast, nipple/areolar region, and often the axillary lymph nodes. This is the most common form of mastectomy performed today.

Mucinous Carcinoma:
Rare type of invasive breast cancer formed by mucus-producing cancer cells

Needle Localization:
Placement of one or more wires into the breast to mark the location of a lesion (usually non-palpable) for surgical removal

Nipple:
Projection on the apex of the breast where the ducts open. It is surrounded by a circular pigmented area, the areola

Paget's Disease of the Nipple:
Rare type of breast cancer, which starts in the breast ducts and spreads to the skin of the nipple and the areola.

Parenchyma:
Tissue and surrounding connective tissue that comprise the mammary gland: composed of lobes, lobules, bulbs and ducts

Phyllodes Tumor:
Very rare type of breast cancer which forms from the stroma (connective tissue)

Radical Mastectomy:
Removal of the entire breast, nipple/areolar region, the pectoral (chest) major and minor muscles, and lymph nodes. This procedure is rarely performed today

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SNB):
Procedure that involves removing typically one to three sentinel lymph nodes (the first nodes in the lymphatic chain). A radioactive tracer and/or blue dye are injected into a region of a tumor. The dye is then carried to the sentinel node (the lymph node most likely to be cancerous if the disease has spread from its original origin). Surgeons detect the sentinel lymph node by either spotting the blue dye or by measuring a node's radioactivity with a Geiger counter. If the removed sentinel node is cancer-free, additional lymph node surgery may be avoided

Simple or Total Mastectomy:
Removal of the breast, with its skin and nipple, but no lymph nodes. In some cases, a separate sentinel node biopsy is performed to remove only the first one to three axillary (armpit) lymph nodes

Staging:
Method of grouping patients by the extent of disease to determine the choice of treatment

Stereotactic Table:
A table designed to be used in conjunction with X-ray to precisely locate pathology in the breast

Tubular Carcinoma:
Special type of infiltrating breast cancer

Tumor:
An abnormal mass of tissue found in the breast that possesses no physiological function and arises from preexisting cells through uncontrolled cell division. Tumors can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Tumor Dormancy:
Tumors, which are present in a stable state

Ultrasound:
The location, measurement, or delineation of structures in the body by measuring the reflection of high frequency sound waves