Mammary Gland Pain (Mastodynia): Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (E00-E90).

  • Estrogen stimulus, unspecified.
  • Hyperprolactinemia (see also under the disease hyperprolactinemia) – too high prolactin levels.
  • Hyperandrogenemia – too high androgen level.
  • Deficiency of thyroid hormones, unspecified
  • Deficiency of progesterone, unspecified

Cardiovascular system (I00-I99)

  • Angina pectoris (“chest tightness”; sudden onset of pain in the heart area).
  • Mondor’s disease (synonyms: Mondor’s disease, iron wire phlebitis, phlebitis Mondor) – thrombophlebitis (acute thrombosis and inflammation of mostly superficial veins) of the thoracoepigastric veins or their branches at the front of the thorax (chest)

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

  • Herpes zoster (shingles)
  • Tuberculosis

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48)

  • Benign neoplasms in the breast area such as fibroadenoma (consist of proliferated connective tissue surrounding the lobules of the glands, often growing in small nodules; they occur most frequently in younger women (15 to 30 years of age); another peak age is 45 to 55 years of age) [palpation (palpation examination): usually 1-2 cm in size, painless, shifting nodules of firm consistency] or lipoma (fatty tumor).
  • Mammary carcinoma (breast cancer) [Palpation: painless, rough lump, especially in the upper right quadrant, near the armpit (here occur about 50% of all carcinomas), etc.; see under symptoms or complaints of breast cancer].
  • Mammary cyst (the fluid-filled cavities arise from dilated milk ducts and glandular lobules (lobules)). [Palpation: usually 1-2 cm in size, painless, displaceable lumps of firm consistency]
  • Mastopathy – Mastopathies are proliferative and regressive changes of the mammary gland tissue, usually occurring bilaterally. They are due to hormonal imbalance. They are not true neoplasms (new growths), i.e. benign tumors, but result from increased growth of connective and glandular tissue. Unlike most benign or malignant neoplasms, which usually do not cause pain, they are sometimes very painful depending on the cycle. [Palpation: Often this clinical picture is impressed by changes in the tissue that feel like nodules: fine- to coarse-grained, often pressure-sensitive nodules in the breast (often in the upper outer quadrant) Symptoms: Mastodynia (breast pain) and appearance of induration in the breast, which usually increases premenstrually].
  • Phylloid tumor (synonyms: cystosarcoma phylloides; phylloides tumor); very rare mammary tumor in adult women (about 1% of all mammary gland tumors). It is considered a special form of fibroadenoma. It grows larger than fibroadenoma, grows faster and finger-shaped, as if infiltrating, into the surrounding area. This growth has also led to the name cystosarcoma phylloides, as the rare sarcomas (very malignant, flesh-like soft tissue tumors) of the breast show similar growth. The tumors can become very large and cause significant deformities of the breast. [Palpation: usually larger than fibroadenomas and easily palpable like them; surface irregular; phylloid tumor may extend outward through the skin in a “cauliflower-like” fashion].

Pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium (O00-O99).

  • Mastitis (inflammation of the mammary glands).

Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – reproductive organs) (N00-N99).

  • Mamma abscess (breast abscess) – for example, after breast piercing.
  • Nonpuerperal (outside of pregnancy or the postpartum period) mastitis (inflammation of the mammary glands).
  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) – occurs in women about four to fourteen days before their next period and involves a complex picture of different symptoms and complaints

Medication

Further

  • Onset of puberty
  • Inflamed nipples
  • Lactation phase (breastfeeding phase)
  • Pregnancy (gravidity)
  • Trauma (injury)