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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor will ask you questions about your medical history, what medications you're taking and what health conditions run in your family. The doctor will also do a physical examination that may include careful evaluation of your breast tissue, abdomen and genitals.
Your doctor will want to be sure your breast swelling is actually gynecomastia and not another condition. Other conditions that can cause similar symptoms include:
- Fatty breast tissue. Some men and boys have chest fat that resembles gynecomastia. This is called pseudogynecomastia or false gynecomastia, and it isn't the same as gynecomastia.
- Breast cancer. This is uncommon in men, but can occur. Enlargement of one breast or the presence of a firm nodule raises the concern for male breast cancer.
- A breast abscess (mastitis).
Initial tests to determine the cause of your gynecomastia may include:
- Blood tests
- Mammograms
You may need further testing depending on your initial test results, including:
- Chest X-rays
- Computerized tomography (CT) scans
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
- Testicular ultrasounds
- Tissue biopsies
- Braunstein GD. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of gynecomastia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 17, 2008.
- Braunstein GD. Causes and evaluation of gynecomastia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 17, 2008.
- Braunstein GD. Management of gynecomastia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 17, 2008.
- Braunstein GD. Gynecomastia. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;357(12):1229-1237.
- Testicular Disorders. In: Kronenberg HM, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. St. Louis, Mo. Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/111383897-2/0/1555/0.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2008.
- Fitzgerald PA. Gynecomastia. In: McPhee SJ et al. CURRENT Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. 48th ed. San Francisco, Calif.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=1. Accessed Nov. 24, 2008.
- Shalender B. Disorders of the Testes and Male Reproductive System. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. The Mc-Graw Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2900449. Accessed Nov. 24, 2008.
