ABSTRACT
Fibroadenomas are common benign breast lumps seen in teenagers and women in their twenties, and there is a rise in incidence in women in their forties. Typically they appear mobile within the breast, are of a rubbery consistency on palpation, have a slightly irregular or bosselated surface, and frequently are multiple. During pregnancy, changes to the breast can be marked, and some women may seek advice for what to the examining physician are considered normal physiological developments. A simple breast cyst can be large compared to the multiple tiny cysts of fibrocystic disease. It may present as a lump of sudden onset. Abscesses are more common in the lactating woman than the pregnant one. They are often found to be multiple when the breast is scanned and are most common in women in their thirties and forties, being an age group of pregnancy more common these days than for ancestors.
