[Physiological review of the mammary gland development during pregnancy]

The mammary gland underwent during pregnancy morphological, histological and physiological modifications that ensure the lactation in the post-partum. On the morpho-histological side, the epithelial growth and the milk synthesis during pregnancy allow secondary the lactation. The physiological modifications, beside the endocrines factors such as prolactin, estrogens, progesterone or growth hormone, lead to an auto-paracrines interactions involving the growth factors and the molecules synthetized by the extracellular matrix.