Mechanics - Anatomy

Female

The external sex organs, or genitals, of the female make up the vulva. The vulva surrounds the vaginal opening. It includes:

• The mons pubis – the mound of fat and skin that covers the pubic bone. It is where pubic hair grows. It cushions the pubic bone during sex. There are lots of nerve endings here so touching it can be pleasurable for the woman.
• The labia majora are the outer lips. They protect the other external parts. Public hair also grows here. They have sweat and oil glands, and nerve endings. The inner side of them are smooth and hairless. They are formed from the same tissue that forms the scrotum in a male.
• The labia minora are the inner lips, with a hood like cover at the top, to protect the clitoris. They have lots of nerve endings, sweat and oil glands. The labia mirora protect the vaginal opening and urethral opening. They help to stop germs getting in. The urethra is the tube women urinate (pee) from.
• The perineum is the smooth skin from the labia to the anus. It is sensitive to touch.
• The clitoris at the top of the labia. It contains erectile tissue, like the male’s penis. It has lots of nerve endings. Its only function is sexual pleasure. When it is touched or stimulated it expands with blood and swells. It is pleasurable to touch and rub.

Females can see their own external organs if they place a mirror below their vulva.

The anus is where faeces (solid waste / “poo”) comes out. The anus can be a sensitive area.

Most of a woman’s reproductive organs are internal, and out of sight.

• The vagina is like a tube. It’s about 4 inches long. It stretches out during sex as that is where the male’s penis goes. It is where the male’s semen is ejaculated. The vagina is also the passage that the blood from a woman’s period passes down. During childbirth, the baby passes out of the woman’s body through this passageway.
• At the top of the vagina is the cervix. It is the opening to the uterus.
• The uterus is shaped like a pear. Sperm swim up from the vagina. The woman’s eggs travel down the fallopian tubes, once a month. The sperm go through the cervix and into the uterus. If the sperm meets and fertilises an egg in the fallopian tubes the fertilised egg (zygote) implants itself in the uterus. This is where it grows into an embryo and then a foetus, during pregnancy.
  The uterus has a lining called the endimetrium. This lining nourishes the fertilised egg. If the egg isn’t fertilised that month the lining comes out of the woman’s body as her period.
• The fallopian tubes connect the ovaries to the uterus. The two ovaries sit on either side of the uterus. The eggs or ova are stored in the ovaries. The ovaries also produce the female sex hormones.
• Breasts are not actually reproductive organs. They are secondary sex characteristics. They come in different shapes and sizes. Their function is to produce milk to feed babies. They are sensitive and can be very pleasurable to touch.