Chinese woodcut: Breast tumour

Woodcut from the anonymous medical text Zhenzang waike tu (Illustrated Bedside Book of External Medicine), published in 1767 (32nd year of the Qianlong reign period of the Qing dynasty). It shows the disease location for breast tumour, here termed fanhua liu (upturned flower tumour). It was so called because the tumour, as it develops externally, comes to resemble a flower or cauliflower. The caption states that fanhua liu is also known as rupi (mass in the breast). However, this term nowadays refers to benign lumps in the breast, and corresponds to hyperplasia of the mammary gland.

PICTURE TITLE: Zhenzang waike tu (Illustrated Bedside Book of External Medicine), Figure 15. OTHER LETTERING: Figure 15. Fanhua liu (upturned flower tumour), also known as rupi (mass in the breast)