THE VAGIXA 



1043 



(|U;irtprs of an inch (18 mm.) by the jjeritoneal cul-de-sac called the pouch of 

 Douglas, in the middle by subperitoneal connective tissue, and bel(j\v by the 

 tissues of the ])eriiueal l)ody. In the latter situation the two canals diverge, anrl 

 the ])erinieal body hence ai)pears on sagittal section as a triangle the base of which 

 is formed by the integument. Laterally, it is in contaet with the vaginal V)ranch 

 of the uterine artery, and a venous jiiexus lying in the subperitoneal tissue at the 

 base of the broad ligaments. It is crossed oljli(juely in its upper third by the ure- 

 ters, and in its lower two-thirds by the anterior borders of the levatores ani. The 

 finger passed within the passage and pressed to either side may be made. to feel the 

 resistance of the })elvic wall, and to distinguish the i)resence or absence of morbid 

 growths or effusions. The cJuct of Gartner, a relic of the Wolffian duct, may 

 occasionally be found by the side of the uj)per half of the vagina as a minute tube 

 or fibrous cord. Two orifices which open into the vagina near the meatus, some- 

 times called .Skene's tubes, are regarded by some morphologists as the terminations 

 of Gartner's ducts. 



The lower end of the vagina })ierces the triangular ligament, and it is here that 



Fig. 634.— Horizontal Section of Vagina and adjacent rfruucTURES. (After Henle. ) 



Levator ani 



the resistance to dilatation is greatest. The inlet may be temporarily narrowed by 

 the engorgement of the buliji vt'stibuli, or by the action of the constrictor vagiuic, 

 and perhaps also ]iy that of the levatores ani. 



The mucous surface of the lower half or two-thirds of the vagina presents on the 

 anterior wall a median longitudinal ridge or carina, and on the posterior wall two 

 ridges, the columnae rugarum, from all of which pass a number of transverse rugae. 

 These markings diminisli in distinctness with advance in age and with successive 

 parturitions. The membrane is of a pale rose colour in i)eriods of (juiescence, but 

 becomes turgid during the catamenial period, and in pregnancy. 



Tlie hymen has been a subject of much speculation amongst the learned and 

 unlearned of all ages. Its very existence was at one time denied by many great 

 authorities, and the significance to be attached to its j)resence or absence is still a 

 question in medical jurisprudence. It ajipears in the virgin as an imperfect septum 

 pierced by an irregular aperture which usually reaches to the anterior vaginal wall, 

 and leaves a fold of semilunar form behind; but it may be represented by a circular 

 curtain pierced by one, two, or more apertures. It varies greatly in strength and 

 elasticity, and although it is nearly always ruptured by the first act of sexual con- 



