Mastitis

Inflammation of one or more mammary glands within the breast, usually in a lactating woman. It can be felt as a hard, sore spot within the breast. Mastitis can be caused by an infection in the breast or by a plugged milk duct. Treatment is by rest, applying warm compresses to the affected area, and for those who are lactating, nursing or expressing milk frequently. Women with mastitis recurring during nursing could benefit by consulting a lactation expert through their obstetrician, midwife, or the La Leche League.

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Inflammation of the breast. SYN: mastadenitis. [masto- + G. -itis, inflammation]

- chronic cystic m. older term corresponding to fibrocystic condition of the breast.

- gargantuan m. obsolete term for chronic inflammation of the breast with great enlargement of the gland.

- glandular m. SYN: parenchymatous m..

- granulomatous m. a rare granulomatous inflammation of lobular breast tissue, with multinucleated giant cells; sarcoidosis is excluded by the frequent presence of neutrophils and absence of involvement of other tissues.

- interstitial m. inflammation of the connective tissue of the mammary gland.

- lactational m. SYN: puerperal m..

- m. neonatorum m. in the secreting breast tissue of the newborn, usually staphylococcal.

- parenchymatous m. inflammation of the secreting tissue of the breast. SYN: glandular m..

- plasma cell m. a condition of the breasts characterized by tumorlike indurated masses containing numerous plasma cells, usually resulting from mammary duct ectasia; although clinically resembling malignant disease (attachment to skin and enlargement of axillary lymph node s), it is not neoplastic.

- puerperal m. m., usually suppurative, occurring in the later part of the puerperium. SYN: lactational m..

- retromammary m. SYN: submammary m..

- stagnation m. painful distention of the breast occurring during the latter days of pregnancy and the first days of lactation.

- submammary m. inflammation of the tissues lying deep to the mammary gland. SYN: retromammary m..

- suppurative m. inflammation of the breast due to infection with pyogenic bacteria.

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mas·ti·tis ma-'stīt-əs n, pl -tit·i·des -'tit-ə-.dēz inflammation of the mammary gland or udder usu. caused by infection called also mammitis see BLUE BAG, BOVINE MASTITIS, GARGET, SUMMER MASTITIS

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n.

inflammation of the breast, usually caused by bacterial infection via damaged nipples. It most often occurs as acute puerperal mastitis, which develops during the period of breast-feeding, about a month after childbirth, and sometimes involves the discharge of pus. Chronic cystic mastitis has a different cause and does not involve inflammation. The breast feels lumpy due to the presence of cysts, and the condition is thought to be caused by hormone imbalance.

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mas·ti·tis (mas-tiґtis) [mast- + -itis] inflammation of the mammary gland, or breast.