110 FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION, 



triangle with its muscle, as in the male, excepting that the an- 

 terior angle of it goes to the anterior end of the urethra. 



The Fossa Navicularis is that portion of the rima vulvse 

 which is below the vestibulum, and anterior to the orifice of 

 the vagina, 



SECT, II. Of THE YAGINA. 



The Vagina is a thin membranous canal which leads from the 

 vulva to the uterus. It is from four to six inches in length, dif- 

 fering according to age and pregnancy, and being much shorter 

 in women who have borne children than in virgins. It is placed 

 between the bladder in front, and the rectum behind, being 

 flattened by them so as to bring its anterior and posterior sur- 

 faces into contact. Its anterior extremity is the smallest of the 

 two; and presents its greatest diameter vertically, while that of 

 the posterior is transverse. As it follows accurately the central 

 line of the pelvis, it is,, consequently, curved with its concavity 

 forwards. Its anterior parietes are shorter than the posterior, 

 both from the smaller depth of the pelvis in this direction, and 

 from the mode of connexion with the uterus. 



The vagina is formed by two tunics; a fibrous and a mucous 

 one. The first is external, of a light red colour, highly elastic, 

 and seems to consist of condensed cellular membrane, the fibres 

 of which are much intermixed, and pass in every direction. It 

 is vascular, and immediately adjacent to the large venous sinuses 

 of the pelvis. The mucous membrane being -a continuation of 

 that of the vulva, is at and near its anterior orifice of a vermi- 

 lion tinge; while, posteriorly, it is grayish and frequently spotted, 

 so as to give it a marbled appearance: its thickness diminishes^as 

 it recedes from the external orifice; and upon being floated in 

 water many mucous lacunae are observable upon it. 



The internal surface of the vagina is commonly covered with 

 the mucus which comes from its lacunae. On the anterior or 

 pubic portion, it is divided longitudinally by a middle ridge, 

 which commences by a sort of tubercle just below the orifice 

 of the urethra, and proceeds backwards, becoming indistinct as 

 it approaches the uterus. Transverse ridges formed in the same 

 way by folds of the mucous membrane, arise from the sides of 



