What does architectural distortion describe?

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Architectural distortion occurs when the normal pattern of breast tissue is rearranged or warped without the presence of a discrete lump. On a mammogram, you see spiculated lines radiating from a point or focal retraction of tissue, but no clear mass forms. This distinction is what makes it different from a true mass lesion and is why the best description is distortion of the normal architecture without a discrete mass. Movement or motion artifacts can blur images but don’t create the characteristic retraction patterns; an irregular mass with smooth margins implies a mass rather than architectural distortion; increased density refers to more tissue but not to a distorted architecture.