Child Anatomy
The Child Abuse Team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center provides the following information on anatomical structures to help with interpreting reports of medical exams. Familiarity with these terms and structures also helps dispell certain myths about anatomy.
The hymen is the source of many myths about female anatomy. The facts are:
- Every girl is born with a hymen.
- Hymens vary in shape and in size among individual females.
- The hymen changes significantly during puberty.
- After puberty, bleeding from hymenal injury may or may not occur during first-time intercourse.
The following information describes the commonly encountered terminology for male and female anatomy:
- Anal verge: the area between the external and internal anal skins.
- Anus: the opening of the rectum between the buttocks.
- Fossa navicularis: the area of mucosal skin between the posterior fourchette and the hymen in females.
- Glans: the tip of the penis surrounding the urethral opening.
- Hymen: a membrane that partially covers the opening of the vagina. The hymen may be thin or thick, may cover most of the vaginal opening or very little of it, and varies in shape. Terms used to describe the appearance of a normal hymen include crescentric (crescent-shaped), annular (round), redundant (folded), estrogenized (thickened) and septate (two openings).
- Introitus (hymenal opening): the opening in the middle of the hymen. Objects entering the vagina first pass through the introitus. Hymenal injury from vaginal penetration often occurs at the introitus.
- Labia: the lips surrounding the vaginal opening. There are two sets of labia; one is the labia major (outer set), and the other is the labia minor (inner set). After puberty, the labia enlarge and more completely cover the opening of the vagina.
- Phimosis: adhesion of the prepuce (foreskin) to the glans in males.
- Posterior fourchette: the area of mucosal skin where the labia minora meet (opposite end to the clitoris).
- Prepuce (foreskin): tissue that covers the glans in uncircumcised males. The prepuce is removed during circumcision.
- Rugae: folds of skin which radiate outward from the anus.
- Sphincter: the muscles that surround the anus.
- Urethral meatus: the opening of the urethra from the bladder to the exterior through which urine passes.
- Vagina: a tubular structure inside the body, bordered by the hymen at the outer end and by the cervix internally.
