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Dense breast tissue includes the milk glands, milk ducts and supportive tissue in the breast. Fatty tissue is made of fat cells. A person with dense breast tissue has more dense tissue than fatty tissue. On a mammogram image, the fatty breast tissue is transparent.
To understand what “dense breasts” means, it helps to know a bit about breast tissue. breasts are made up of a combination of three types of tissue: fatty tissue, fibrous tissue (also called connective tissue), and glandular tissue. The fatty and fibrous tissues give breasts their shape, and the glandular tissue produces milk.
Dense breast tissue refers to the amount of fibroglandular and fibrous connective tissue that’s present within your breast as compared to fatty tissue. When there’s more glandular and fibrous tissue than fatty tissue, your breast is considered dense.
Dense breast tissue has more glandular and fibrous tissue, and less fatty breast tissue. Dense breasts are a common mammogram finding. Breast density increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
When viewed on a mammogram, women with dense breasts have more dense tissue than fatty tissue. Nondense breast tissue appears dark and transparent on a mammogram. In contrast, dense breast tissue appears as a solid white area, which makes it difficult to see through.
Breasts are composed of fat and glandular breast tissue, and the ratio of fat tissue to glandular breast tissue is what determines your breast density. Some women have less glandular breast tissue; this is referred to as not dense.
Breasts also include fatty tissue, which is not dense tissue. Some women’s breasts are denser than others. On a mammogram, fatty tissue appears dark and transparent. Dense breast tissue appears as a solid white area, which makes it difficult to see the contrast that make breast cancer visible.
Breast density is a measure of the amount of dense tissue (glandular and connective tissues) compared to less dense tissue (fatty tissue). Breasts that contain a higher proportion of glandular and connective tissues relative to fatty tissue are said to be dense.
Key points. A mammogram shows how dense your breasts are. When you get the results of your mammogram, you may also be told if your breasts have low or high density. Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of getting breast cancer. Parts of the breast. A woman's breast has three kinds of tissue: Fibrous tissue holds the breast tissue in place.
Risk Factors. Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Breast Density on a Mammogram. Read our blog, Understanding What it Means if You’re Told You Have Dense Breasts. What is breast density? Breast density is a measure used to describe mammogram images. It’s not a measure of how the breasts feel.