882 TEE AFPABATVS OF GENERATION. 



pudic artery ; this fluid is carried from it by numerous veins, which are 

 disposed in a plexus around the canal, and enter the satellite of the 

 artery. The nerves come from the pelvic plexus. (The lyirvphaiics accom- 

 paay the veins, and pass to the pelvic glands.) 



Function. — The vagina receives the male organ during copulation, and 

 through it the foetus passes during parturition. 



5. The Vulva. (Fig. 411.) 



The external orifi.ce of the vagina, the vulva is situated in the perineal 

 region, immediately below the anus. We will consider in succession its 

 external opening, its cavity, and its structure. 



External Opening. — This is a vertical elongated slit, presenting two 

 lips and two commissures. The lips {labia mihm) are covered externally by a 

 fine smooth, unctuous, and (almost) hairless skin, rich in colouring pigment, 

 and lined internally by mucous membrane ; on their free margin, the limits 

 of these two membranes are well marked. The superior commissure is very 

 acute, and almost meets the anus, from which it is nevertheless separated by 

 a narrow space^the perineum. The inferior commissure is obtuse and 

 rounded ; it lodges the clitoris. 



Cavity of the Vulva. — By all Veterinary authorities, this cavity is 

 described as belonging to the vagina, to which it forms the entrance ; but 

 considering the analogies that exist between the genital parts of Woman and 

 those of animals, this cavity must be distinguished from that of the vagina. 

 It offers for study the hymen, which separates the two cavities, the meatus 

 urinarius and its valve, and the clitoris. 



The Clitoris. — Exactly similar to the corpus cavernosum of the male, 

 which it represents in miniature, and 2 to 3 inches in length, the clitoris 

 commences by two crura fixed to the ischial arch, and covered by a 

 rudimentary ischio-cavernosum muscle. After being attached to the 

 symphysis by means of a suspensory ligament analogous to that of the 

 male, it passes backwards and protrudes into the vulvular cavity, towards 

 the inferior commissure. Its free extremity, lodged in that cavity, is 

 enveloped by a mucous cap — the prepuce of the clitoris (prceputium clitoridis), 

 which is folded in various directions, and excavated about the centre of the 

 tubercle by a small follicular cavity that represents the extremity of the 

 male penis. The organisation of the clitoris resembles in every particular 

 that of the corpus cavernosum of the penis : a fibrous framework, erectile 

 tissue, and cavernous vessels. It is the contact of the penis with this 

 organ during copulation that chiefly occasions the venereal excitation. 



The Meatus Deinarius and its Valve. — The urethral canal in the 

 female is very short. It passes immediately beneath the anterior sphincter 

 muscle of the vulva, and after a brief course in the texture of the floor of 

 the vagina, it opens into the vulvular cavity by an orifice covered by a large 

 mucous valve : this is the meatus urinarius and its valve. The urinary 

 opening, placed at the bottom of the cavity, at from 3i to 5 inches from the 

 external opening, is wider than the male urethra, and will admit sounds of 

 somewhat large calibre, for the catheterism of the bladder. The valve has 

 its free border inclining backwards, to direct the flow of urine towards 

 the exterior, and prevent its reflux into the vagina. 



(The female urethra is composed of two tunics : a mucous, continuous 

 with that of the bladder and vagina ; and a muscular coat, also a con- 

 tinuation of that belonging to these organs, and chiefly made up of circular 



