Chap, xviii.] THE RECTUM. 415 



the usual seats of elephantiasis in the female. A 

 hernia may present in one or other labium (pudendal 

 hernia), the neck of the sac being between the vagina 

 and the pubic ramus. 



" On everting one of the labia minora and pressing 

 the hymen inwai'ds, a small red depression may 

 generally be seen on the vulva, somewhat posteriorly. 

 It leads to the orifice of Cowper's duct" (Doran). 

 Cowper's gland, an oval body about half an inch in 

 length, lies against the posterior part of the vaginal 

 orifice, under the superficial perineal fascia, and 

 covered by the fibres of the sphincter vaginae. It 

 wastes after thirty. Abscess of the gland and cystic 

 dilatation of its duct are not uncommon. 



The vagina is lodged between the bladder and 

 rectum, while the upper fourth of its posterior surface 

 is covered with peritoneum, and is therefore in relation 

 to the abdominal cavity. Thus it happens that the 

 bladder, the rectum, or the small intestines, may 

 protrude into the vagina by a yielding of some parts 

 of its walls and thus produce a vaginal cystocele, 

 rectocele, or enterocele. 



The anterior wall of the vagina measures a little 

 over two inches, the posterior wall about three inches. 

 The long axis of the canal forms an angle of 60 with 

 the horizon, and is therefore almost parallel to the 

 pelvic brim. 



The abdominal cavity may be opened through a 

 wound of the vagina. In one or two instances of such 

 injuries several feet of intestine have protruded 

 through the vulva. In one reported case an old 

 woman, the subject of a brutal rape, walked nearly a 

 mile with several coils of the small bowel hanging 

 from her genitals. 



From the comparative thinness of the walls that 

 separate the vagina from the bladder and rectum, it 

 happens that vesico- vaginal and recto-vaginal fistulas 



