EXTEKXA L OR GA N& 



1165 



and iscbium on each side by a crus ; the body is short and concealed beneath the 

 labia ; the free extremity, or glans clitoridis, is a small rounded tubercle, consisting 

 of spongy erectile tissue, and highly sensitive. It is provided, like the penis, with 

 a suspensory ligament, and with two small muscles, the Erectores clitoridis, which 

 are inserted into the crura of the clitoris. The clitoris consists of two corpora 

 cavernosa, composed of erectile tissue enclosed in a dense layer of fibrous 

 membrane, united together along their inner surfaces by an incomplete fibrous 

 pectiniform septum. 



Between the clitoris and the entrance of the vagina is a triangular smooth 

 surface, bounded on each side by the nymphse ; this is the vestibule. 



The orifice of the urethra (meatus urinarius) is situated at the back part of the 

 vestibule, about an inch below the clitoris and near the margin of the vagina, 

 surrounded by a prominent elevation of the mucous membrane. Below the meatus 

 urinarius is the orifice of the vagina, more or less closed in the virgin by a mem- 

 branous fold, the hymen. 



Ovary 



Douglas' 

 pouch. 



Vaginal 



orifice of 

 uterus 



Round 

 ligament 

 of uterus 



Transverse 

 vesical 

 fold 



FIG. 744. Longitudinal section through the pelvis of a young woman. (Bardeleben.) 



The Hymen is a membranous fold which closes to a greater or less extent the 

 opening of the vagina. It varies much in shape. Its commonest form is that of 

 a ring, generally broadest posteriorly : sometimes it is represented by a semilunar 

 fold, with its concave margin turned toward the pubes. A complete septum 

 stretched across the lower part of the vaginal orifice is called " imperforate hymen." 

 Occasional! v it is cribriform, or its free margin forms a membranous fringe, or it 

 may be entirely absent. It may persist after copulation, so that it cannot be 

 considered us a test of virginity. After parturition the small rounded elevations 

 known as the <-<irun<:ulce myrtiformes are found as the i-emains of the hymen. 



Glands of Bartholin. On each side of the commencement of the vagina, and 



