Location of the vagina

In women, the vagina is the organ of the reproductive system, performing a number of important functions:

1. Participation in the process of fertilization. Passing through the vaginal cavity, spermatozoa penetrate into the uterus and fallopian tubes .
2. Barrier function. The vagina protects the overlying tissues from pathogenic microbes.
3. Participation in childbirth. It is part of the birth canal.
4. Inconductive. The vagina displays vaginal and menstrual discharge.
5. Sexual - getting sexual satisfaction.

Anatomical structure of the vagina

In length, this organ has an average of 7-12 cm. If the woman is in an upright position, the vagina slightly bends upward.

The thickness of the vaginal walls is 3-4 mm. They consist of several layers:

• external (adventitial), represented by connective tissue with elastic and muscle fibers;
• middle (smooth muscle);
• internal (mucous membrane), consisting of a multilayered planar epithelium, forming transverse folds, which, if necessary, allow this organ to stretch.

The walls of the vagina are pale pink in normal condition, during pregnancy acquire a brighter shade. They are lining glands secreting mucus.

How is the vagina located and where is it located?

The vagina is between the bladder and the urethra in front, behind it is the rectum. The vagina covers the cervix, located at its upper border just at the level of the cervix. In the lower part of the vagina ends with a vaginal opening that opens into the so-called vestibule vestibule, which is part of the vulva (external female genital organs).

If we consider how the vagina is positioned relative to the uterus body, then with it it forms an open angle in the front. The contact of the vagina and the uterus leads to, that between the walls of the vagina a slit-like cavity is created.

How does the vagina develop?

Already on the fifth month of intrauterine development the vagina is fully formed. In newborns this organ has a length of 3 cm. And its position changes with the growth of the child. This is due to the process of lowering the bladder and the vagina itself.

As a result, their topographic-anatomical relationship is changing. Uterus and the vagina in the early childhood with each other form an obtuse angle.

From the age of 5 years, the vagina occupies the place where it will be throughout life.