>>why would cholesterol crystallize during a bout of mastitis? Rather than lactation mastitis I'm pretty sure the cholesterol crystals they refer to are debris which can often be found in non-lactating conditions of the breast such as duct ectasia, granulomatous mastitis and cholesterol granulomas (benign tumours containing collagen bands and tightly packed cholesterol aggregates). in duct ectasia there are dilated ducts filled with debris consisting of (among other things) lipid laden cells and desquamated ductal epithelial cells. A theory is when the dilated ducts rupture and dispell the contents this leads to periductal inflammation and the formation of granulomas (sometimes with lipid crystals forming) In a slightly connected way however the lactating gland does produce something called corpora amylacea which are granules formed by phosphoproteins - they are well described in the milk of cows causing ductal pathology and have also been seen in breastmilk. Some people theorise they have a role in the pathology of conditions such as blocked ducts and white spot. Cathy Fetherston PhD IBCLC Perth, Western Australia *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html