The urethra and vagina are the same

The structure of the human body is a magical substance. Ancient Chinese medicine to modern Western medicine are all derived from the understanding of the human body. The biggest difference between women's bodies and men's bodies is the difference in their genitals. Precisely because the genitals are different, the lower bodies of men and women are also different. The female vagina is unique to women, but due to its special location, many people think that the urethra is the vagina. Are they really the same?

The urethral opening and the vaginal opening are not in the same place, but they are very close. The urethral opening is above the vaginal opening. The urethral opening is very small and the penis cannot be inserted. It is recommended to urinate after having sex to clean the urethra and avoid urinary tract infection.

The vagina is a muscular tube connecting the uterus and external genitalia. It is flat from front to back, highly expansive, and about 9 cm in total length. Its lower end is narrow, with the vaginal opening at the vaginal vestibule; the upper end surrounds the vaginal part of the cervix and forms an annular space around it, called the vaginal vault. The vaginal fornix is ​​divided into the anterior fornix, posterior fornix and lateral fornixes. The anterior fornix and lateral fornix are not very obvious, while the posterior fornix is ​​deeper and is adjacent to the rectouterine pouch through the vaginal wall. The rectouterine pouch is the lowest point of the peritoneal cavity. If there is fluid accumulation in the peritoneal cavity, it is mostly accumulated here.

The vagina is the female's organ of sexual intercourse and the passage for menstrual blood and fetal discharge. The vagina is a hollow tube.

There are thick vaginal sphincters around the vagina, which are mainly composed of the pubococcygeus muscle. These muscles play an important role in maintaining the elasticity, dilation capacity and sexual activity of the vaginal canal. The vagina is usually in a closed state, with the front and back walls always fitting together, like a potential cavity that extends from the cervix to the vaginal vestibule or external opening of the vagina, which is only about 7-8 cm. The cervix protrudes into the internal opening of the vagina, and the space between it and the vaginal wall is called the anterior fornix and posterior fornix. It is about 11 cm long from the external opening of the vagina to the top of the posterior fornix. The vaginal epithelium has many folds that stretch during childbirth or sexual intercourse.

The vagina itself does not have secretory glands, but there is a rich network of blood vessels around it. When sexually excited, these small blood vessels are highly filled, so a large amount of fluid penetrates through the epithelium into the vaginal wall, making the entire vaginal canal fully lubricated, thus avoiding damage to the vaginal wall caused by friction during sexual intercourse.

The vaginal wall also normally secretes a small amount of mucus to keep the vagina moist; the vaginal epithelial cells are constantly shed and renewed, and the shed cells mix with the mucus to form leucorrhea, which also contains a large number of non-pathogenic bacteria. This is a normal physiological phenomenon. These non-pathogenic bacteria play an important role in maintaining the normal acidic environment of the vagina, which is a self-cleaning function of the vagina. During menopause, the vaginal epithelium and surrounding tissues shrink, the vaginal wall folds disappear, and the color becomes lighter, making senile vaginitis more likely to occur.