Sunday, April 3, 2011

Fourchette – little fork


The labia minora – small lips – are paired soft erectile folds of hairless skin that are part of the vulva (the external female genitals/sex or reproductive organs). The labia minora also known as nymphae are located between the labia majora – large lips – which unlike the labia minora are hair bearing skin folds.
Posteriorly, the right lip of the labia minora unites with the left lip of the labia minora to form a fork-shaped structure the fourchette (frenulum of the labia minora/frenulum labiorum pudendi). Fourchette is French for little fork.
Between the labia minora is the vestibule which contains the vaginal orifice, urethral opening and the ducts of various glands involved in sexual function; it is not unusual for the labia minora to protrude through the labia majora.
Reference
Rogers AW, 1992, Textbook of Anatomy, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, page 668. Go to reference
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Fourchette – little fork, vulva

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