mammary gland

noun

1. any of the compound accessory reproductive organs of female mammals that occur in pairs on the chest or ventral surface and contain milk-producing lobes with ducts that empty into an external nipple, becoming functional when young are born and secreting milk for the duration of suckling.

mammary gland

noun

1. any of the milk-producing glands in mammals. In higher mammals each gland consists of a network of tubes and cavities connected to the exterior by a nipple

mammary gland

/ măm′ə-rē /

1. One of the glands in female mammals that produces milk. It is present but undeveloped in the male. In most animals, the gland opens onto the surface by means of a nipple or teat. Mammary glands number from 2 to 20, depending on the species.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mammary gland¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

At birth, mammary glands are similar in both genders—just little patches of the mammary epithelium tissue.

From Nautilus

Using breast organoids, scientists can model the complex life of mammary glands at various stages of a woman’s life.

From Nautilus

Dos Santos likens this pregnancy mammary gland growth to the changes of the seasons.

From Nautilus

Before Dolly, it was widely held that once vertebrate cells had fully differentiated—becoming, say, muscle or skin or, in the case of Dolly’s “mother,” mammary gland tissue—they were permanently fixed and couldn’t become a different kind of cell.

From Nautilus

At any rate, its name in Zuñi is me' he ton ne, while me' ha na is the name of the human mammary gland.

From Project Gutenberg

Mam′elon, a small hillock with a rounded top; Mam′ma, the mammary gland:—pl.

From Project Gutenberg

The secretion of milk, if occurring in the mammary gland, is much diminished or entirely arrested.

From Project Gutenberg

But all are nourished for a longer or shorter time by the milk secreted by the mammary gland of the mother.

From Project Gutenberg