[Periductal pigmentophages in the mammary gland]

The periductal spaces of mammary glands and, less frequently, the perivascular spaces and the interstitial and intralobular tissue contain cells with lipopigment granules in their cytoplasm, resembling ceroid or lipofuscin. In a series of 100 surgical biopsies of mammary glands obtained from females aged 19 to 80 years the concentration of such cells, their histochemistry and frequency as related to mammary dysplasias and mammary neoplasm were evaluated. The results were compared with those of Davies.