1. Clitoris

Your clitoris is the pleasure center of your reproductive anatomy. The clitoris is homologous to the penis. This simply means that when you were an embryo in your mother’s womb, your anatomy was indistinguishable from male anatomy until approximately gestational week 10. At that time, based on the genetics of you as a person (XX for female), the external genitalia grew into your clitoris. The clitoris has similar internal structures as the penis. The clitoris grows in size with arousal. It is a highly sensitive organ, owing to the fact that there are up to 10,000 nerve fibers per clitoris.

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2. Clitorial Hood

The clitoris has a foreskin called the clitoral hood. This is where the labia minora (inner vaginal lips) meet at the top and form this hood. It protects the clitoris from infection. Occasionally it can become infected from oils, soaps, and dead skin cells.

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3. Urethra

The urethra is the small opening just below your clitoris. This is your “pee tube opening”. This is the opening that can allow bacteria to get up into your bladder and kidneys and cause infection. This is especially common in women who don’t drink enough water. This is also more common in women who have frequent intercourse and women that are in menopause due to decreased estrogen.

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4. Labia Majora

The labia majora are the outer part of the “vaginal lips”. This is the part of the lips that grows hair.

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5. Labia Minora

The labia minora is the inner part of the “vaginal lips”. Like a fingerprint, the labia minora are very unique to every woman. They very in size and shape and color. They are part of the arousal process in women. During this arousal process, they can turn pink to red and increase in size (2 to 3 times).

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6. Introitus

The opening of the vagina is called the introitus. Its normal size is 1-3 in. It is an amazing structure that can expand 3-10 times to allow the delivery of a newborn babies head and body.

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7. Vagina

The vagina is an integral organ for the creation of life through sexual intercourse, and the delivery of the baby at the end of pregnancy. It is an organ that also increases in width and length during the arousal process. Vaginal laxity is a known problem after vaginal delivery. This can be very distressing for women. However, it is a myth that vaginal laxity can occur from normal sexual intercourse.

The vagina is a self cleaning organ. It has its own hormones and bacteria that provide appropriate housecleaning and normal health. This is called a “microbiome community”. This microbiome is dominated by Lactobacillus (good bacteria) and other microbial compounds. The environment can be disrupted with diet, bathing, douching, and sexually transmitted infections. This can cause malodorous discharge, pain, and itching.
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8. Anus

The anus is the structure that prevents stool from leaking out of your colon. It can be damaged with difficult childbirth, severe constipation, and rectal intercourse.

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