GENERATION. 



f[i!}/lance in the malt?, has given rife to a fimilar operation of 

 circumcifion in girls in feveral parts of Africa and Aim. 

 Niebulir enjoyed the very rare opportunity of feeing the 

 pudenda of an Arabian girl, eighteen years of age, v.hohad 

 been circiuncifed ; lie drew tlie parts from the life, and 

 brought the rcprefer.tation home with him. See his Befch- 

 reibuilg von Arabicn, p. 77. et feq. 



The clitoris correfponds above to the arch of thepubes, to 

 whicli it is fixed by a kind of fufpenfory ligameiit ; below to 

 the urctl'.ra, to which it is united by a loofe cellular tiffiie. 



It refenibles the penis in its acute fcnfibiUty : " fcnfus 

 mire vehemens ell, ut tola crura ab ejus particulcc folllcita- 

 tione contreiiiifcant, feminaeque tot:E extra feponantur, ni- 

 hilque poffint proco neg.'.re. Qui extra venereni, in cafta 

 femina parva fuerat, fed ctiam modo arrigit et intumefcit, 

 ;it prepollcra: veneri infervirc pofiit, multoque sfu ejus tur- 

 pitudinis denique moles ejus augetur, ut omnia membra fo- 

 lent, quibus multum utimur. Qua: caufa videtur fuide, cur 

 orientales populi, accuniti cailitatis muliebris cuilodes, banc 

 particulam in nuper natis puellis ainpiitaverint, aut certe feiTO 

 dccurtaverint." Element. Phyfiol. lib. 28. i"! 20. We have 

 made fome obfcrvations, concerning tiie occafional increafe 

 in fize of this part, in the remarks on hermaphrodites. 



The nymphse are two membranous folds, connected above 

 to the preputium clitorldis, and defcending about as far as 

 the middle of the aperture of the vagina. They are thin and 

 flattened, broadeft in the middle, and narrower at tiie two 

 extremities. Their external furface correfponds to the in- 

 iide of the labia, while the internal, approximating above to 

 that of the oppofitc fide, correfponds below to the meatus 

 urhiarius and orifice of the vagina. Their adherent edge is 

 tolerably thick ; while the loofe margin is thin and convex : 

 the latter is fometimes wrinkled or notched, fo as to have oc- 

 cafioned a comparifon of the part to a cock's comb. The 

 fuperior extremity arifes from the preputium or glans cli- 

 torldis : the inferior ends at the fide of the vagina. They 

 arc fmooth and of a red colour in young women, and acquire 

 a darker hue in older fubjefts, and particularly iuch as have 

 had children. They are <ortned of duplicatures of the m.em- 

 brane lining the vulva, filled internally with a cellular fub- 

 llance, free from fat : and they contain febaceous glands, 

 the excretory dudls of which form very obvious pores : 

 they differ very much in fize. Ordinarily, they are com- 

 pletely covered by the labia, when approximated. Some- 

 times they form fcarcely perceptible prom.inences, while at 

 others they are very large, and hang down between the la- 

 bia, fo as to form an inconvenient obftruc^ion to the fexual 

 functions ; in this cafe their furtace is irregular, being 

 grooved and tuberculated. Such formations are more fre- 

 quent in the inhabitants of warm climates, where it is not 

 unufual to cut off fome part of them; and the operation is 

 even occafionally praiflifed in European countries. Fre- 

 quently one is larger than the other. They pofiefs confider- 

 able fenfibility. I'lie chief ufe afiigncd to them is that of 

 afiiftmg, bv their developcment, the enlargement of the vulva 

 Qu.-ing parturition : the di'ilention of the parts by the paf- 

 fage of the child deflroying the fold. The name of nymphas 

 ■was given to them from a fuppofition that they regulate the 

 jtt ot urine ; but as woiTien evacuate this fluid with the 

 thighs apart, and as the direftion of the ftream feems to de- 

 pend fo entirely on that of the urethra, we cannot adopt this 

 luppofition. And we arc further confirmed in rcjefting the 

 opinion liy the exiftence of thefe folds in m.any animals where 

 they can have nothing to do with the ftream of urine. 



We have nothing further to fay concerning the veftibu- 

 l«m, exci pt that the furface is fmooth, and that it is termi- 

 catrd below by the opening of the urethra, which is about 

 Voi.. :)iVI. 



three quarters of an incli, or an inch from the clitoris. The 

 defcription of this canal, and its termination, v/ill be found, 

 together with that of the female bladder, under the article 



KlIi.NEV. 



Immediately under the orifice of the urethra is the en- 

 trance of the vagina, called fcjmetimes the osextcrnum uteri ; 

 the diameter and appearance of wliich vary verv confiderabK- 

 m different individuals. In virgins this opening is verv 

 narrow; it is broader after the fexu.l nft hai, been pcrformtj, 

 and moll ample in uomcn who have had many children. 

 The narrownefs in the firft cafe arifes from the' prcfence of 

 a duplicatiire of the mucous membrane, called the hymen, 

 which contracts the opening fo confiderablv, that marriagi- 

 cannot be confummated without its being ruptured ; henc<-, 

 after this laceration, the entrance of the canal is more free. 

 As the parts are vatcular and frnfible, more or lefs bleeding 

 and pain generally attend this dilatation of the aperture; and 

 thefe circumilances are cxpedled in fome countries as the 

 necefiary proofs of virginity in the bride. However, tlicv do 

 not always attend the firll; coition ; and it fhould fccm, by 

 the following quotation, th.at the exillcnce of the hymen 

 hangs by a very fiender thread ; " L'hymen, pendant le 

 premier age, eft tres mince, fe rompt facilcment et fe dc- 

 truit, lorfqu'on effuie a%-ec trop pen de mcnagcment ks par- 

 ties extcrieures de la generation, foit lorfque I'cnfant Ini- 

 menie, avec ou fans intention, contrafte des habitudes I^ei- 

 biennes, prepare et difpofe ainfi aux plaifirs folitaires, des 

 organes qui font a ptine cbouchcs." iVIoreau Hilt, dc lu 

 Femme, torn. i. p. 53. 



The hymen is a duplicatiire of the fame membrane which 

 lines the entrance of the vagina, and has the fame texture 

 and properties. It is foft, red, vafcuhir, and fenfible. The 

 pofterior furface is reticulated, as the columns of the vagina 

 terminate on it. Its fize and figure vary very confiderably. 

 Generally it has the fhape of a erefcent, with the concavity 

 turned upwards or forwards. The convex edge is attached, 

 the concave loofe ; the former is fixed to the inferior part 

 and fides of the vagina, the latter is turned towards th.c 

 urethra. The orifice of tlie vagina, in the virgin, is the 

 fpace bounded in front or abos'e by the meatus urinariii', 

 below or behind, and at the fides, by the loofe concave 

 edge of the hymen. The dimcnfions of this opening muit 

 depend therefore on the breadth of the hymen, which differs 

 much in different individuals : ordinarily, it will admit the 

 little finger without any ftrctching. This crefcented or fal- 

 ciform figure of the hymen is feen only when the labia are 

 drawn apart, and the fides of the vagina gently ilretched ; 

 for in the ordinary attitudes, the membrane is thrown into 

 longitudinal folds, the fides of the vagina comyig into con- 

 taft with each other, fo that the entrance of the canal is 

 completely fiiut. However, the fpace left between the 

 urethra and the edge of the mem.brane will always allow 

 the efcape of the menllrual difcharge. The lower part of 

 the hymen is the broadeft, and the horns of the erefcent, 

 where they advance along the fides of the aperture, grew 

 gradually narrower, until they are completely loft. 



Sometimes the hymen is continued under the orifice of the 

 urethra, fo -as to form a complete membranous circle, per- 

 forated in the middle, inftead of a erefcent. Indeed Halkr, 

 and many other very accurate anatomifts, have found the 

 fold, when the parts were carefully examined in water, ge- 

 nerally continued under the urethra : but verv narrow at 

 that part. In more rare cafes the hymen is an imperforare 

 circular membrane, attached to the edge of the orifice ot 

 the vagina i[i every part, fo as to clofe the canal completilv. 

 Such females have been termed afrcf.i, by a word derivid 

 from the Greek, and figiiifving imperforate. A.= there it 



G I* 



