Female Genital Organs: An Overview

• Overview of the female genital organs

Internal Genital Organs

• Ovary
• Uterine tube
• Uterus
• Vagina

External Genital Organs

• Mons pubis
• Labium majus
• Labium minus
• Clitoris
• Vestibule of vagina
• Bulb of vestibule
• Greater vestibular gland
• Small vestibular glands

Ovary

• Produces ovum and female hormones
• Located in the ovarian fossa
• Almond-shaped
• Measures 3 x 1.5cm
• Weighs 4-6 grams
• Homologous to the testis
• Located in the great peritoneal cavity
• The surface is not covered by peritoneum
• Surfaces: medial and lateral
• Extremities: tubal and uterine
• Borders: mesovarian (anterior) and free (posterior)
• Two groups of ligaments: peritoneum-based (Mesovarian ligament) and connective tissue-based

Ligaments of ovary:

• Suspensory ligament of ovary
• Proper ovarian ligament

Blood Supply to Ovary:

• Arteries: Ovarian artery (from abdominal aorta) and ovarian branch of uterine artery
• Veins: Pampiniform plexus drains into right ovarian vein (into IVC) and left ovarian vein (into left renal vein)
• Nerves: Ovarian plexus

Innervation to Ovary:

• Sympathetics: T10-11 segments
• Parasympathetics: Vagus nerve

Lymphatic drainage:

• Preaortic nodes
• Lateral aortic lymph nodes

Uterine Tube (Salpinx=Fallopian Tube)

• Intraperitoneal, except for intramural part
• 10 cm long
• Parts: infundibulum, ampulla, isthmus, and intramural part

Infundibulum:

• Abdominal opening of the uterine tube
• Features tubal fimbriae (finger-like extensions)
• Ovarian fimbria (closer to the ovary)
• Ampulla: ½ the length
• Isthmus: Narrow and thick-walled
• Intramural part: Located in the uterine wall and includes the uterine opening of the uterine tube
• Mesosalpinx supports the tubes

Blood supply to Uterine Tube:

• Arteries: Ovarian and uterine arteries (medial part)
• Veins: Ovarian and uterine veins

Lymphatic Drainage to Uterine Tube:

• Lateral aortic and preaortic nodes

Innervation to Uterine Tube:

• Ovarian plexus and uterovaginal plexus
• Parasympathetics: Vagus nerve and pelvic splanchnic nerves
• Sympathetics: T10-L1

Uterus

• Place for fertilized ovum until birth
• Pear-shaped muscular organ

Uterine Cavity:

• Triangular in coronal section
• Appears as a cleft in sagittal section
• Weight is 30-40 grams.
• Surfaces: anterior (vesical) and posterior (intestinal)
• vesicouterine pouch is anterior
• rectouterine pouch is posterior

Parts of the Uterus:

• Body
• Isthmus
• Cervix
• The fundus is covered by peritoneum.
• Coils of the small intestine and sigmoid colon are in proximity with the uterus
• The isthmus makes up the upper 1/3 of the cervix and is 1 cm long
• Features the internal uterine opening

Cervix:

• Supravaginal and vaginal parts
• There exists an external uterine opening

Canal of cervix:

• Palmate folds
• Normally, the uterus flexes anteriorly at the isthmus of the cervix in anteflexion
• The uterus bends anteriorly at the level of the vagina's anteversion

Wall of Uterus:

• Serous layer (perimetrium) is peritoneum
• Subserous layer
• Muscular layer (myometrium)
• Mucous layer (endometrium): contains glands and vessels that supply the embryo
• This is the layer where the embryo is implanted

Ligaments of uterus

• Peritoneal folds provide support, including the broad ligament
• Real ligaments contain smooth muscle fibers and fibrous tissue
• Round ligament
• Transverse cervical ligament (Cardinal ligament=Mackenrodt ligament)

Broad ligament parts:

• Mesosalpinx
• Mesovarium
• Mesometrium

Sagittal section of broad ligament shows

• Uterine tube
• Ovary
• Mesosalpinx
• Mesovarium
• Broad ligament
• Ureter
• Uterine artery

Arteries of the Uterus:

• Uterine artery (internal iliac artery)

Veins of the Uterus:

• Uterine venous plexus drains into the internal iliac vein

Lymphatics:

• Lateral aortic nodes
• Preaortic nodes
• External iliac nodes
• Internal iliac nodes
• Sacral lymph nodes

Innervation:

• Uterovaginal plexus

Sempathetics nerve supply to Uterus.

• T12-L1

Parasempathetics nerve supply to Uterus.

• From S2-4 by pelvic splanchnic nerves

Vagina:

• Organ of copulation
• The vestibule of the vagina is a region between the two labia minorae
• Anterior and posterior walls touch each other
• Vaginal fornix is anterior, posterior (deepest), and lateral

Structure of the vagina:

• Vaginal rugae
• Vaginal opening features a hymen
• The hymen is a thin mucosal fold
• Some have an imperforate hymen (without a hole), or may not be present

Blood Supply Vagina:

• Arteries: vaginal artery.

Lymphatics of the Vagina:

• External iliac
• Internal iliac
• Superficial inguinal

Innervation:

• Uterovaginal plexus
• Pelvic plexus
• Pudental nerve

External Genital Organs "vulva=pudendum"

• Mons pubis
• Labium majus
• Labium minus
• Clitoris
• Vestibule of vagina
• Bulb of vestibule
• Greater vestibular gland
• Small vestibular glands

Mons Pubis:

• Anterior to pubic symphysis
• Contains fatty tissue and hairs (pubes)
• Slit between the labia majora is called the Pudendal cleft
• Features an anterior and posterior labial commissure

Labium Minus:

• The vestibule of the vagina is a region between two labia minora
• Clitoris is an erectile organ homologous to the penis
• The body has left and right corpora cavernosa

Greater vestibular gland or Bartholin gland:

• Bulb of vestibule is homologous to corpus spongiosum penis
• Inferior surfaces are covered by bulbospongiosus m.

Blood Supply to the external genital organs:

• Arteries: internal pudendal (internal iliac) and external pudendal (femoral) arteries

Lymphatics:

• Supeficial and deep inguinal lymph nodes

Nerves:

• Pudental nerve, ilioinguinal nerve

Homologous Organs

• Ovaries are homologous to Testicles
• Labia majus is homologous to Scrotum
• Clitoris is homologous to Penis
• Bartholin’s glands are homologous to Cowper glands
• Paraurethral glands are homologous to Prostate
• Bulb of vestibule is homologous to Corpus spongiosum penis