Okay so in this tutorial, we're going to take a look at the female external genitalia.
So what I'm going to do is, I'm going to rotate this model, so we're looking at an inferior
view of the external female genitalia.
So the way that I'm going to explain the anatomy of this area is through a diagram.
So looking at the same view, I'm going to talk you through some of the anatomical features
of the female external genitalia.
So posteriorly, we've got the anus, anterior to that we've got the vaginal orifice, and
at the front, most anteriorly, we've got the urethral orifice.
So the urethral orifice and the vaginal orifice are surrounded by two thin folds of skin which
are called the labia minora.
So I've just draw these folds on here.
So the singular of labia minora, is labia minus, so these are also known as the inner
lips, or the inner labia - so labia just means "lips" in Latin.
So then you've got the outer lips, which are called the labia majora.
So the labia majora, run from the mons pubis, which is a layer of adipose tissue, which
lies over the pubic symphysis, to the perineum posteriorly, where they're connected by the
posterior commissure.
So you've got this depression posteriorly.
So anterior to the urethral orifice, you've got the glands clitoris, and the labia minora
form folds around the glans clitoris.
So at the anterior end of the labia minora, they bifurcate to surround the glans glitoris.
So this bifurcation produces two folds: you've a lateral and a medial fold.
So anteriorly, the lateral folds meet in front of the clitoris and they form what is known
as the hood of the clitoris, or the prepuce.
The medial folds however, join together and attach to the posterior aspect of the glans
clitoris to form the frenulum.
So the body of the clitoris extends forwards anteriorly from the glans clitoris, and it's
deep to the prepuce - so it's underneath the hood.
So posteriorly, the labia minora join together to form the fourchette.
So the area actually surrounded by the labia minora, containing the urethral orifice and
the vaginal orifice, is known as the vestibule.
So the vaginal orifice is surrounded by a thin membrane called the hymen.
So in young girls, this actually completely covers the orifice, but you get rupture of
this fold of membrane, the hymen, with first sexual intercourse, or through other mechanisms,
such as injury.
So after perforation of this hymen, you get remnants of the membrane which surround the
vaginal orifice.
So the vaginal orifice is also known as the introitus.
So also within the vestibule, you've got the opening of two glands.
So on either side of the urethral orifice, you've got the opening of the paraurethral
glands, and then slightly posteriorly and laterally to the vaginal orifice you've got
two glands which open, called the greater vestibular glands.
So these glands are also called Bartholin's glands, and they secrete mucus to lubricate
the vagina.
So hopefully that's given you a good overview of the some of the key features of the female
external genitalia.