Читать книгу Woman - William J. Robinson - Страница 11

The Vulva. The external genitals of the female are called the vulva. The vulva consists of the labia majora (meaning the larger lips), which are on the outside and which in the grown-up girl are covered with hair, and the labia minora (the smaller lips), which are on the inside and which are usually only seen when the labia majora are taken apart.

[Vulva in Latin means folding-door. The ancients Were fond of giving fancy names to things.]

The Mons Veneris. The elevation above the vulva, which during puberty becomes covered with hair, is called by the fanciful name, mons Veneris, or Venus' mountain. It is usually well padded with fatty tissue.

The Clitoris. The clitoris is a small body about an inch in length, situated beneath the mons Veneris and partly or entirely covered by the upper borders of the labia minora.

The Urethra. Between the clitoris above and the opening of the vagina below is situated the opening of the urethra, or the urinary meatus, through which the urine passes. Many women are so ignorant, or, let us say innocent, that they think the urine passes out through the vagina. This is not so. The vagina has nothing to do with the process of urination.

Again enumerating the female sex organs, but in the reverse order, from before backward, or from out inward, we have: The mons Veneris and the labia majora, or the external lips of the vulva; these are the plainly visible parts of the female genital organs. When the labia majora are taken apart we see the labia minora; when the labia majora and minora are taken apart we can see or feel the clitoris and the hymen, or the remains of the hymen. We then have the vagina, a large, stretchable musculo-membranous canal, in the upper portion of which the neck of the womb, or the cervix, can be seen (when a speculum is used), or felt by the finger. Only the cervix, or neck of the womb, can be seen, but the rest of the womb, the broader portion, can be easily felt and examined by one hand in the vagina and the other hand over the abdomen. Continuous with the uterus are the Fallopian tubes, and below the trumpet-shaped ends of the Fallopian tubes are the ovaries, embedded in the broad ligaments, one on each side.

The Breasts. The breasts, also called mammary glands, or mammæ [mamma in Latin, breast], may be considered as accessory organs of reproduction. They are of no importance in the male, in whom they are usually rudimentary, but they are of great importance in the female. They manufacture milk, which is necessary for the proper nutrition of the infant, and they add a great deal to the beauty and attractiveness of the woman. They are thus a help to the woman in getting a mate or a husband. The projecting elevation of the breast, which the child takes in his mouth when nursing, is called the nipple; the darker colored area surrounding the nipple is called the areola.

The Pelvis of the Male.

The Pelvis of the Female.