The Development of the Hymen 



101 



passive except when it is active. This seems irrational. Apparently the 

 hymen does not represent a thinned out meml^rane, but a proliferation 

 of connective tissue. That such a proliferating tendency of the vaginal 

 connective tissue exists, all writers, including Klein ('94), agree. 



The next clinical fact to be considered is that occasionally a hymen 

 is to be found in the absence of a vagina. This point is emphasized by 



Fig. S. Drawing of dorsal portion of hymen, vulva and vagina in median 

 sagittal section (Embryo 1). Section No. 183. This shows clearly how the 

 vulvo-vaginal fold is distinct from, and posterior to, the hymen. By their 

 density and direction, the connective tissue fibres of the vagina are set off 

 from the vulvar connective tissue. The difference in epithelium is also 

 indicated in a general way. F.. fold ; H., hymen ; Va., vagina ; Vu., vulva. 

 Magnified 40 X. 



Pozzi ('84), as favoring his conception of the vulvar origin of the 

 hymen. It is, however, here as elsewhere that the exception proves the 

 rule. In the large majority of cases where the vagina is absent, a 

 hymen is also not to be found. Thus the weight of the evidence favors 

 the vaginal theory. Furthermore, as A^eit points out, the occurrence of 



