4 2 Diseases of the Genital Organs 



about other body openings. Above, its fibers become lost 

 in the perineum and the sphincter ani; below, some go to 

 the base of the clitoris and some pass downward, to become 

 lost in the skin and other tissues of the thighs. Their con- 

 traction brings about the closure of the vulvar opening. 

 The anterior group of muscle fibers invests the vulva in the 



Fig. 21. Vulva and Vagina of Cow. 

 /, Meatus urinarius ; 2, 2, mouths of Bartholin's glands. The arrows 

 point to very small cystic swellings in Gartner's ducts. 



region of the hymen, just anterior to the meatus urinarius, 

 where, by their contraction, they produce a constriction on 

 the vulvo-vaginal border line. 



Through the medium of the surrounding aponeuroses, the 

 vulvar muscles acquire continuity with the ischium, sacrum, 



