[The normal vascularization of the female breast in Doppler ultrasound]

Specific Doppler-Ultrasound methods for the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions by measurement of abnormal flow, have been known for more than 10 years. We used this method also in many patients without pathological breast problems and found a high physiological variation of blood flow. As basic definition of normal flow, to be compared with patients under medical treatment of mastopathy, we studied flow variations during menstrual cycles in normal volunteers. In both breasts we measured the amount of vessels, average frequency shifts according to flow velocity and the sum of all Doppler shifts, as measurement of the overall vascularity. Between different individuals the range of Doppler shifts was between 500 and 1000 Hz. However, in individual subjects the variation was only between 50-200 Hz, average 100 Hz. We also found between contralateral breasts no remarkable difference in vascularity. Flow increased at the 10th day after onset of menstruation, in 9 cycles with ovulation and in 8 cycles with a lack of gestagen production. Dramatic flow increase occurred in one early pregnancy. It appears that influences of drugs can be controlled, after basic measurements of individual vascularity.