MAMMARY GLAND, OR BREAST

the organ characteristic of the animals belonging to the order of Mammal i a; the gland in the female which secretes milk and by means of which the young are suckled; present in the male only in a rudimentary form. In the human female the m. g’s are two in number, situated on the front of the chest, in the adult extending from about the third to the seventh ribs. In the center of the surface is a darker patch of skin, the areola, from which arises a conical projection, the nipple. The gland itself is composed of about a score of lobes branching to form smaller lobules, bound together with connective ti ue and embedded in fat; from each lobe a duct proceeds, to open on the apex of the nipple. Them. g’s become considerably enlarged during pregnancy, and very shortly after the birth of the child milk begins to be secreted.