Articles
Dense breast tissue: What it means to have dense breasts
How does dense breast tissue affect breast cancer screening?
Content
What is dense breast tissue?
How do doctors determine if you have dense breast tissue?
What causes dense breast tissue?
Why does breast density matter?
What tests are recommended for breast cancer screening?
Are other tests more effective?
What is dense breast tissue?
Dense breast tissue refers to the appearance of breast tissue on a mammogram. It's a normal and common finding.
Breast tissue is composed of milk glands, milk ducts and supportive tissue (dense breast tissue), and fatty tissue (nondense breast tissue). When viewed on a mammogram, women with dense breasts have more dense tissue than fatty tissue.
On a mammogram, nondense breast tissue appears dark and transparent. Dense breast tissue appears as a solid white area on a mammogram, which makes it difficult to see through.
