1. A system for processing medical image data corresponding to a breast, comprising: a source of a three-dimensional data volume representing at least one physical property within the breast; a processor coupled with said source to receive said three-dimensional data volume to compute therefrom a two-dimensional thick-slice image representing said at least one physical property of the breast in a slab-like subvolume thereof; a display coupled with said processor and displaying said thick-slice image to a viewer; and an archiving device coupled with said processor to receive said two-dimensional thick-slice image, said archiving device generating an archival dataset including said two-dimensional thick-slice image, said archiving device transferring said archival dataset to a tangible storage medium for archiving purposes.