Vagina
Definition
o A fibromuscular tube which leads from the vulva to the uterus connecting the external and internal organs of reproduction in the female
Course
o Runs obliquely upwards and backwards at 45 ° angle
o Between the bladder and rectum,anus
o Size
o Anterior wall 7.5 cm ( 3 inches)
o Posterior wall 9 cm
o Cervix protrudes through the anterior wall
Structure
o Outer areolar tissue
o Middle smooth muscle
o Inner stratified squamous epithelium - ridges - rugae
o No secretory glands - moisture from cervical secretions
Blood Supply
o Arterial plexus - derived from the uterine and vaginal arteries - the branches of the internal iliac arteries
o Venous plexus situated in the muscular wall, drains into the internal iliac veins
Lymph drainage
" To the deep and superficial iliac glands
Nerve supply
o Parasympathetic fibres from the sacral outflow
o Sympathetic fibres from the lumbar outflow
o Somatic sensory fibres from the pudendal nerves
