Vulva

The vulva plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering consists of the external vaginal opening, Bartholin's as well as Skene's vestibular glands. the urinary meatus is also spoke as it opens into the vulval vestibule. Other atttributes of the vulva put the pudendal cleft, sebaceous glands, the urogenital triangle anterior component of the perineum, together with pubic hair. The vulva includes the entrance to the vagina, which leads to the uterus, and allows a double layer of security measure for this by the folds of the outer and inner labia. Pelvic floor muscles assist the environments of the vulva. Other muscles of the urogenital triangle also supply support.

Blood administer to the vulva comes from the three Afferent lymph vessels carry lymph away from the vulva to the inguinal lymph nodes. The nerves that give the vulva are the pudendal nerve, perineal nerve, ilioinguinal nerve and their branches. Blood and nerve supply to the vulva contribute to the stages of sexual arousal that are helpful in the reproduction process.

Following the coding of the vulva, changes gain believe place at birth, irritation. cosmetic surgery procedures.

Different cultures draw held different views of the vulva. Some ancient religions and societies have worshipped the vulva and revered the female as a goddess. Major traditions in Hinduism proceed this. In western societies, there has been a largely negative attitude typified by the medical terminology of , meaning parts to be ashamed of. There has been an artistic reaction to this in various attempts to bring about a more positive and natural outlook, such(a) as work from British, American, and Japanese artists. While the vagina is a separate element of the anatomy, it has often been used synonymously with vulva.

Development

In week three of the coding of the embryo, mesenchyme cells from the primitive streak migrate around the cloacal membrane. Early in the fifth week the cells form two swellings called the cloacal folds. The cloacal folds meet in front of the cloacal membrane and form a raised area requested as the genital tubercle. The urorectal septum fuses with the cloacal membrane to form the perineum. This division creates two areas one surrounded by the urethral folds and the other by the anal folds. These areas become the urogenital triangle and the anal triangle. The area between the vagina and the anus is known as the clinical perineum.

At the same time a pair of swellings on either side of the urethral folds known as the genital swellings imposing into the labioscrotal swellings. Sexual differentiation takes place, and at the end of week 6 in the female, hormones stimulate further development and the genital tubercle bends and forms the clitoris. The urethral folds form the labia minora and the labioscrotal swellings form the labia majora. At this time the sexes still cannot be distinguished. The array of the outside genitalia is similar in male and female embryos until the twelfth week and even then is unoriented to distinguish.

The uterovaginal canal or genital canal, forms in the third month of the development of the urogenital system. The lower part of the canal is blocked off by a plate of tissue, the vaginal plate. This tissue develops and lengthens during the third to fifth months and the lower part of the vaginal canal is formed by a process of desquamation or cell shedding. The end of the vaginal canal is blocked off by an endodermal membrane which separates the opening from the vestibule. In the fifth month the membrane degenerates but leaves a remnant called the hymen.

Organs in the male and female with a divided up common ancestry are said to be Bartholin's glands are homologous to the bulbourethral glands in males.

The newborn's vulva may be swollen or enlarged as a or situation. of having been exposed, via the placenta, to her mother's increased levels of hormones. The labia majora are closed. These reorientate disappear over the first few months. During childhood before puberty, the lack of estrogen can cause the labia to become sticky and to ultimately join firmly together. This assumption is known as labial fusion and is rarely found after puberty when oestrogen production has increased.

Puberty is the onset of the ability to reproduce, and takes place over two to three years, producing a number of changes. The tables of the vulva become proportionately larger and may become more pronounced. Pubarche, the intro of pubic hair develops, firstly on the labia majora, and later spreads to the mons pubis, and sometimes to the inner thighs and perineum. Pubic hair is much coarser than other body hair, and is considered a secondary sex characteristic. Pubarche can occur independently of puberty. Premature pubarche may sometimes indicate a later metabolic-endocrine disorder seen at adolescence. The disorder sometimes known as a polyendocrine disorder is marked by elevated levels of androgen, insulin, and lipids, and may originate in the fetus. Instead of being seen as a normal variant it is produced that premature pubarche may be seen as a marker for these later endocrine disorders.

Apocrine sweat glands secrete sweat into the pubic hair follicles. This is broken down by bacteria on the skin and produces an odor, which some consider to act as an attractant sex pheromone. The labia minora may grow more prominent and undergo reorder in color. At puberty the number one monthly period known as menarche marks the onset of menstruation. In prepubertal girls the skin of the vulva is thin and delicate, and its neutral pH makes it prone to irritation. The production of the female sex hormone estradiol an estrogen at puberty, causes the perineal skin to thicken by keratinising, and this reduces the risk of infection. Estrogen also causes the laying down of fat in the development of the secondary sex characteristics. This contributes to the maturation of the vulva with increases in the size of the mons pubis, and the labia majora and the enlargement of the labia minora.

In pregnancy the vulva and vagina take on a bluish colouring due to venous congestion. This appears between the eighth and twelfth week and keeps to darken as the pregnancy continues. Estrogen is submitted in large quantities during pregnancy and this causes the outside genitals to become enlarged. The vaginal opening and the vagina are also enlarged. After childbirth a vaginal discharge known as lochia is produced and sustains for approximately ten days.

During menopause, hormone levels decrease, which causes changes in the vulva known as vulvovaginal atrophy. The decreased estrogen affects the mons, the labia, and the vaginal opening and can cause pale, itchy, and sore skin. Other visible changes are a thinning of the pubic hair, a waste of fat from the labia majora, a thinning of the labia minora, and a narrowing of the vaginal opening. This assumption has been renamed by some bodies as the genitourinary syndrome of menopause as a more comprehensive term.