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galactorrhea

 
Medical Encyclopedia: Galactorrhea

Definition

Galactorrhea is the secretion of breast milk in men, or in women who are not breastfeeding an infant.

Description

Lactation, or the production of breast milk, is a normal condition occurring in women after delivery of a baby. Many women who have had children may even be able to express a small amount of breast milk from the nipple up to two years after childbirth. Galactorrhea, or hyperlactation, however, is a rare condition that can occur in both men and women, where a white or grayish fluid is secreted by the nipples of both breasts. While this condition is not serious in itself, galactorrhea can indicate more serious conditions, including hormone imbalances or the presence of tumors.

— Altha Roberts Edgren



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Dictionary: ga·lac·tor·rhe·a   (gə-lăk'tə-rē'ə) pronunciation
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n.
  1. Excessive flow of milk from the breasts during lactation.
  2. Spontaneous milk flow not associated with childbirth or the nursing of an infant.

Veterinary Dictionary: galactorrhea
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Excessive or spontaneous milk flow; persistent secretion of milk irrespective of nursing; lactorrhea. May occur in dogs with severe hypothyroidism, due to hyperprolactinemia, pseudocyesis, or trauma to the mammary gland.

Wikipedia: Galactorrhea
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Galactorrhea
Classification and external resources
ICD-10 N64.3, O92.6
ICD-9 611.6, 676.6
DiseasesDB 6314
MeSH D005687

Galactorrhea or galactorrhoea is the spontaneous flow of milk from the breast, unassociated with childbirth or nursing.

Contemporary Maternal-Newborn Nursing Care defines galactorrhea as "nipple discharge." [1]

Causes

It can be due to dysregulation of certain hormones or local causes such as excessive nipple stimulation.

Lactation requires the presence of estrogen, progesterone and prolactin, and the evaluation of galactorrhea includes eliciting a history for various medications or foods (methyldopa, opiates, antipsychotics, as well as licorice) and for behavioral causes (stress, and breast and chest wall stimulation), as well as evaluation for pregnancy, pituitary adenomas (with overproduction of prolactin or compression of the pituitary stalk), and hypothyroidism. Adenomas of the anterior pituitary are most often prolactinomas. Overproduction of prolactin leads to cessation of menstrual periods and infertility, which may be a diagnostic clue. Galactorrhea may also be caused by hormonal imbalances owing to birth control pills.

Galactorrhea is also a side effect associated with the use of the second-generation H2 receptor antagonist Cimetidine (trade name: Tagamet). There is also a possibility of galactorrhoea with use of anti-psychotics that block tuberoinfudibular dopaminergic pathways.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ladewig, P., London, M., Davidson, M. (2006). Contemporary Maternal-Newborn Nursing Care (6th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 0131703927.

 
 

 

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Medical Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Galactorrhea" Read more