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Breast imaging – Breast ultrasound – Ultrasound lexicon – Breast tissue composition | |
Breast tissue composition describes the appearance of the breast parenchyma on ultrasound.
The categories of breast echotexture are:
- Homogeneous background echotexture – fat
- Homogeneous background echotexture – fibroglandular
- Heterogenous background echotexture.
Homogeneous background echotexture – fat
In breasts that have undergone involution, commonly in postmenopausal women, the bulk of the breast is made up of fat lobules and uniformly echogenic bands of connective tissue .
Homogeneous background echotexture – fibroglandular
This term is used to describe normal homogeneous distribution of the glandular tissues in the mammary zone with fatty parenchyma and connective tissues in the premammary and retromammary zones. It is seen from menarche in young girls and in postpubertal women until the breast involution stage. Throughout this period of life, transient and reversible changes related to pregnancy and lactation will be seen, as described in an earlier section .
Heterogeneous background echotexture
This term is used to describe breast tissue appearance with multiple areas of heterogeneity and increased density of the fibroglandular parenchyma in the mammary zone. It is caused by hormonal changes with predominant estrogen influence on the breasts. Although it may be physiological, it is imperative to assess parenchymal echotexture because it may affect the sensitivity of breast ultrasound for lesion detection .
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