The Probert Encyclopaedia of Medicine

MAMMARY GLANDS

The mammary glands are half-sphere-shaped glands that overlie the muscles of the chest, predominantly the pectoralis major, in an area between the third and sixth ribs on each side of the chest. The mammary gland tissue is attached to the overlying skin by straps of fiber called Cooper' s ligaments. Mammary glands exist in the male as well as the female, but only in a rudimentary state in the former. They appear in the human featus in the sixth week and by the time the baby is born they consist of an intricate network of ducts that empty into the nipple, which look like a tiny circle of thickened skin. In girls, the development of mammary glands is usually the first sign of puberty.
Research Mammary Glands