乳腺 (rǔ xiàn) — mammary gland

Definition

noun
mammary gland

Examples

  • 乳腺。
    rǔ xiàn Shì bǔ rǔ dòng wù tè yǒu de qì guān.
    The mammary gland is an organ unique to mammals.
  • 乳腺,。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de rǔ xiàn, méi yǒu fā xiàn yì cháng.
    The doctor examined her mammary glands and found no abnormalities.
  • 乳腺。
    rǔ xiàn Jiàn kāng duì nǚ xìng lái shuō fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Mammary gland health is very important for women.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乳rǔbreast or milk

乳 refers to breast or milk and 腺 to a gland, so a milk-producing gland.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

乳 originally drew a kneeling woman holding and breastfeeding a child, matching its meanings of breast and milk.

Open 乳 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 腺 →

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