THE FEMALE GENITAL SYSTEM

THE FEMALE GENITAL SYSTEM 

The reproductive anatomy in the female takes the form of the letter "Y." At the ends of the two top arms are the ovaries. The arms themselves are formed by the fallopian tubes, also called oviducts, thin passageways through which eggs released from the ovaries travel. At the Y's center is the uterus, or womb, the muscular pear-sized organ which will house and nourish a fertilized egg from earliest stages through all phases of fetal development, enlarging greatly in the process.

The cervix is the neck of the uterus, which seals off the uterine cavity until, in the last hours prior to birth of a baby, it changes its shape. The cervix leads into the vagina, the receiver of sperm during intercourse and the exit passage for the baby at birth. Elsewhere in this book, as the Index indicates, are discussions of menstruation, menopause, pregnancy, childbirth, and sterility. Hygiene Douches are not essential to feminine hygiene, although many women have been persuaded to take frequent douches with commercial preparations because of advertisements implying that no woman can be clean or dainty without them.

Actually, nature has provided for the cleansing of the internal passages. If you wish to take an occasional douche, it should be of the mildest type, imitating nature's own secretions. You can use a physiological salt solution: add two level teaspoonful of table salt to a quart of moderately warm water.

Administer the douche under gentle pressure. Whether a woman, during the menstrual period, should use an internal absorptive pad (tampon) or an external sanitary pad is entirely a matter of personal preference.

 Either is safe. Each woman can decide for herself, based upon which she finds more effective and comfortable. An unmarried woman can wear an internal pad if her hymen happens to be well perforated-and this may be the case, contrary to some opinion, whether or not she has ever had sexual relations. 

Certain kinds of exercise may cause rupture of the hymen in a virgin. If the hymen is completely lacking in perforation-a condition called imperforate hymen-there may be interference with menstruation, and a minor surgical procedure may be needed to create an opening. Any irregularity in menstruation, once menstruation has become well established, should be checked with your physician. Infections Syphilis, gonorrhea, and non-venereal infections can seriously damage the female reproductive system.