GENERATION. 



fcribed in the male urethra, and they have been very minutely 

 inveiligated by Haller. He defcribes fome fmall ones, to 

 the number of fevcn or eight, between tlie clitoris and ure- 

 thra ; and others confiderably larger, on each fido of the 

 urethra, admitting a fine probe for the length of fome lines. 

 There arc alfo two or three large lacuna: on each lide of tlie 

 va'Wna, admitting bridles for half an inch or more. Nothing 

 of a glandular fcruciure can be deteded about thefe parts ; 

 the bcun:e feem to produce the mucus here as in the male 

 uretiira. Thefe parts, together with other lacunx fituated 

 in the urethra, are the fources of the fiuid by which the 

 female organs are lubricated : the circumftances, under wliicli 

 it is effufed, are thus mentioned by Haller ; " mucus, quam 

 femim in venerem ardentes profundunt, aut in coitu, aut a 

 turpi friftioue, aut demum, nam reperiuntur mulieres ejus 

 naturae, ad confpe>ftum forifiofi amatique juvenis." Elem. 

 phyfiol. lib. 28. p. 88. 



This membrane enjoys a high degree'- of fenfibliity, and 

 appears in part to be the feat of that peculiar modilication 

 of fenl'ation experienced in coition. Its extraordinary dila- 

 tation in parturition, and the recovery of its former lize, 

 lliew that it poflefles extenfibility and contradtility. 



Sometimes the labia are united at their convex edges, and 

 the ur'ne efcapes by a fmall opening towards th^^ir upper end. 

 The line of feparation can be ealily recognized in fuch a 

 cafe, and a very flight incifiOH is luflicient to bring the parts 

 to their ordinary ftale. The nymplwe may be fmiilarly cir- 

 cuHftaaced. 



^Vc have mentioned aL-eady, that the women of hot coun- 

 tries generally have large nymphoe ; it would not be right to 

 pafs unnoticed the peculiarity of formation afcribed to the 

 Hottentot women. Travellers have related that the fexual 

 organs ar^- covered, in thefe females, by a natural kind of 

 apron, i. e. by an extenfion of the fliin from the pubes. Ten 

 Rhyne, who had opportunities of perfonal obfervation, ex- 

 plains the faft by an unufually large fize of the nymphae (de 

 promontorio bonae fpei, p-33.); but this does not agree 

 with the ftatement of Le Vaillap.t, who feems to have taken 

 confiderable pains to afcertain the truth. He reprefents it 

 as an enlargement of the labia, produced by artiiicial means, 

 from a whimfical notion of beauty. " Thefe organs,'' fays 

 h?, " may be extended to the length of nine inches, according 

 to the age of the individual, or the perfeverance witli which 

 fhe endeavours to bring to perfection this very fmgular per- 

 fonal decoration. I iaw a young girl, fifteen years old, in 

 whom they were already four inches long. Tiiey are 

 brought to that fize by rubbing and drawing them, which 

 is the beginning of the procefs ; the affair is completed by 

 fufpending weights from the parts. I have faid tl»t it is a 

 peculiar taile, a iirange kind of whim ; in the horde, where 

 I was, there were only four v.-omen, and the young girl, 

 whom I have juft mentioned, in this ridiculous Rate." The 

 account given by Meffrs. Peron and I^efucur, in a memoir 

 addreffed to the national inftitute, feems to differ fomewhat 

 from the ftatement of Le Vaillant, but this perhaps arifes 

 only from the mode of defcription. They fay that the part 

 is an appendage of the labia, 8^ centimetres in length in an 

 adult, adhering above, where it is narrowe*1:, to the fuperior 

 commifTure of the labia, in front of the rlitoris, and divided 

 into two lobes, which, approximated to each other, cover 

 the vulva. It conilils of a foft, wrinkled, and very ex- 

 tenfile flcin, entirely free from hair, rather redder than the 

 reft of the integuments, and fufceptible of corrugation, like 

 the fcrotum of man.'' (Cuvier, toni. 5. p. 125.) Steller 

 mentions fome peculiarity, fimilar to that of the Hottentots, 

 in the Kamtfchatkan wom.en. See his Befchreibung von 

 Karatkhatkau, p. 30c. 



The inlrrnal Orgiwi of Gcntration. — The vagina, or cana-'i» 

 uteri, is a membranous canal, extending with a verj- flight ob- 

 liquity from below upwards, and from before backwards, 

 frcjn the vulva to the neck of the uterus. Its anterior pofi- 

 tion is nearly tranfverfe ; the pofterior afceiids tov.ards the 

 uterus. It lies in the middle of the inferior ape!l;ure of the 

 pelvis, between the urethra and bladder, which are in front 

 of it, and the reclum ivhich is behind. Tlie ordinary 

 length of the canal is from five to fix inches, and the breadth 

 one inch ; but as it is very extenfile, thefe dimenfions are 

 fubjecl to change. It is narrower, but at the fame time 

 longer in the virgin, than in married women ; during parturi- 

 tion its fize is equal to that of the child's head ; it is very 

 capacious after delivery, fo as to be three inches in diameter ; 

 but it foon regains its previous fize, never however returning 

 to the narrownefo of the virgin ftate. Its form is nearly 

 cylindrical, but fomewhat flattened towards its anterior ex- 

 tremity. It is (lightly bent towards the pubes; its two ex- 

 tremities are obliquely truncated, fo that the anterior fur- 

 face is fliorter than the pofterior. We Ihall defcribc in it an 

 external and an internal furface, and two extremities. 



The external furface may be divided into an anterior, a 

 pofterior, and two hiteral regions. Ti;e anterior, llopLig 

 upwards and fliglitly concave, correfponds to the tladdn 

 and urethra, being connedted to the foiTner by a loofc cellular 

 texture, and very intimately united with the latter by a doufe 

 and firm fubftance. The pofterior region, (loping from 

 above and behind dov, nwards and for\vards, is , gently con- 

 vex, and correfponds to the rectum ; its fuperior half, being 

 covered by the peritoneum, is fimply contiguous to the intei- 

 tine ; while the inferior part, poffelling no fuch covering, is 

 connected to the inteftine by cellular fubftance. This con- 

 nefting medium is much loofer above than below ; and in 

 the latter fituation it is difficult to feparate the two organs 

 without cutting one or the other. The lateral regions arc 

 narrower than the parts juft defcribed, and furrounded by 

 much cellular fubftance. They correfpond to tlie ureters, to 

 the plexus formed by the blood-vefTels of the uterus and va- 

 gina, and below to the levatores ani. Tlie internal furface 

 of the organ prefents a vaft number of folds and proTr.i- 

 nences, wiiich make it irregular throughout. Thefe callous 

 rugofities exhibit a rnoft elegant arrangement in the foetus 

 and in the virgiii ; they are confufed and partially obhterated 

 by parturition, but are very foon reftored, and may often 

 be very diftinctly obferved even in old women. In fome 

 fubjecls, however, the whole vagina is nearly fmooth. Tile 

 half of tile canal next to the uterus contains the feweft and 

 leaft remarkable irregularities ; the folds here are foft, moftiy 

 tranfverfe, but fometim.es partly oblique. Tliefe promi- 

 nences are jagged lamina, ending in a thin edge, turned to- 

 wards the opening of the vagina, difTering in fize and va- 

 rioufly interwoven v.ith each other. On the anterior half 

 of the canal are railed two prominent cohimnt ; an anterior 

 and a pofterior one. Thefe are beict witii hard and nearly 

 cartilaginous warty prominonces, clofely arranged, of a 

 roundilh figure, and circumfcribed by grooves. The ante- 

 rior column is the largeft, and correfponds to the orifice of 

 the urethra. Frequently thi^ is bifid towards the front, and 

 its two portions, joined by tranfverfe rugae, end in the hy- 

 men. The front end of this column fometimes projects like 

 a papilla at the orifice of the vagina. Tlie pofterior fmaller 

 column is exat\ly oppofite to tile anterior, and correfponds 

 to the reclum ; fometimes it is hardly diftinguifhable. This 

 ends alfo in the hymen, and in fome inihmccs projeils an- 

 teriorly hke the anterior column, but lefs confiderably. 

 From each of thefe columns, hard, cartilaginous, tranfveife 

 or oblique folds are extended ; tliey project downwards, 

 O 2 have 



