The ultimate guide to your ? vagina (Part I)

[karizmua]

Sex ed didn?t cover the half of it. From little-known anatomy to tips on safe handling, here?s what you need to know about the sweet spot between your legs.

By Nicole Beland

Submitted by Karizmua

That?s right, we?re shining a spotlight on the almighty vajayjay. And it?s about time. Given the ridiculous amount of maintenance it requires ? gynecologist visits, bikini waxes, Monistat, and more ? you?d think we?d know everything about this attention-getting organ?s intricate design and how to keep it running smoother than a top-of-the-line Lexus. Yet even women who feel perfectly comfortable in their skin don?t give much thought to the nooks and crannies of their nether regions. ?Many women never connect with their sexual anatomy because of our society?s ?keep away? attitude toward the vagina and vulva,? says Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., author of The V Book.

The following guide to a healthy honeypot explains a few things you might still wonder about, life why discharge varies during your cycle and the secret to finding the nerve-packed hot spots that make intercourse feel as good as a clitoral rubdown. And we bet you know someone who could benefit from this info as much-if not more-than you, so be sure to leave this link or print this story out and place where he can see it.

The VIP lounge

Most people call the whole kit and caboodle between a woman?s legs the ?vagina?. But the compendium of visible outer parts is technically the ?vulva?. Meant to keep dirt and bacteria out while providing a welcoming environment fro worthy partygoers, the vulva is like a VIP lounge where the clitoris is the DJ. ?The labia majora [outer lips] are a protective layer of fats covered by skin and hair,? says Lillian Schapiro, M.D., and Atlanta ob-gyn. Their job is to keep sex comfy even if your partner?s pelvis is bonier that Iggy Pop?s. Located inside the labia majora (though sometimes extending beyond them,) the labia minora, or inner lips, act like a pair of swinging doors guarding the entrance to the vagina and the urethra, the tube that leads from the bladder. ?The labia minora are much thinner than the labia majora and even more sensitive,? Dr. Schapiro says. Plus, they contain erectile tissue, made up of clusters of tiny blood vessels, which means they become slightly stiffer (though not as stiff as the clitoris) during arousal. They anatomist who named the parts of the vulva must have found it loundgelike too, because of area between and including the inner folds of the labia minora is called the ?vestibule?.

Your Sprinkler System

Hiding just below the skin of the labia and clitoral hood (called the prepuce) are hundreds of small glands that secrete oil and sweat to protect these delicate areas from friction and overhearing. That means it?s normal if the crotch or your yoga pants is soaked by the end of a workout. The inside of the vagina also stays moist to maintain healthy tissue, but as you?ve no doubt noticed, it gets wetter when you?re turned on. That?s because the lining of the vagina fills with blood ruing arousal, causing the salt water in blood plasma to push through the vaginal wall. The Bartholin?s glands ? on either side of the vaginal opening ? also pump out a few beads of slippery mucus. In missionary position, most of this fluid collects in the back of the vagina and fails to lubricate the opening, making sex uncomfortable. Unfortunately, in some women, lubrication occurs for only a few moments, then stops. In both cases, a water-based personal lubricant is key to ensuring a smooth entry.

Pleats and Ruffles

Like an haute-couture handbag, the vulva and vagina feature a variety of textures. Most of the vulva is smooth, but some women?s labia minora have a ruffled appearance. ?Labia come in all shapes and sizes,? Dr. Stewart says. ?The tips of the nipples and labia are similar because they both contain small, bumpy-looking glands.? Examine your labia minora closely (using a hand mirror) and you may see the glands, which sometimes look like tiny pimples. Separate the labia minora and you may notice that the entrance to the vagina also has a ruffled border or just a few irregular bits of skin. Those are the remnants of the hymen, a thin membrane that once partially covered the entrance but has been torn or pushed aside by sexual intercourse. As for the texture inside the vagina, it?s full of bumpy ridges called rugae. Similar to pleats on a skirt, the rugae stretch and retract to accommodate objects ranging in size from super-slender tampons to roly-poly-8-pound babies.

Finding the Wishbone

In a body full of hardworking organs, the clitoris is like a trust-fund baby who does nothing but party. It?s the only part of the human body whose sole purpose is pleasure. The one thing the clitoris has that a trust-fund baby lacks? Depth. ?The clitoris is larger than it seems,? says Laura Berman, PhD., Clinical Assistant professor of ob-gyn and psychiatry at Northwestern University ?s medical school and author of The Passion Prescription. Beneath the visible pink button, called the glans, lies a wishbone-shaped structure comprising a shaft, which extends about an inch up toward the pubic bone, and two 3-inch arms called crura that reach down and back toward the pelvic bone in an inverted V shape. Though the shaft and crura send pleasure signals to the brain during sex, the glans is more sensitive. That?s why is has a hood-without it, a pair of tight jeans would send your nervous system into overdrive.

Two bulbs of erectile tissue run alongside the crura. Many experts, including Berman and Helen O?Connell, M.D., a urologist at Royal Melboune Hospital in Australia and the first person to map the clitoris using a magnetic resonance imaging, believe that this tissur is pat of the clitoris too. In studies, Dr. O?Connell fround that the clitoris is also connected to erectile tissue surrounding the urethra and extending up to the front wall of the vagina- where the enigmatic G-spot has been known to pop up.

Over the Hedge

Before you shave or wa3x it into a perfect triangle, landing strip, or lucky shamrock, the hair that covers the pubic mound and out labia grows in a patter called the escutcheon (based on the Latin term for an ornamental shield).

When allowed to grow wild, some escutcheons will wander up toward the upper thighs, while others wouldn?t breech the borders of a Brazilian bikini. The shape of hair shafts differs depending on ethnicity: In Asian women they?re typically round, in women of African descent they?re elliptical, and in Caucasians and Latinas they range between the two. ?Elliptical shafts are more likely to become ingrown after shaving or waxing as the hair curls in, pierces the skin, and creates a bump,? says Susan Taylor, M.D., a Philadelphia dermatologist and author of Brown Skin. ?A depilatory breaks the hair at the surface, which can make ingrowns less likely, but only if the chemicals don?t irritate your skin?. Whenever you try a new depilatory, always spot-test the product on your inner thigh before using it on your bikini area. Another way to create an aesthetically pleasing patch is with laser hair removal, but only by a trained professional who uses a laser like the Nd:YAG, which Dr. Taylor says won?t create dark spots by damaging surrounding skin.

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