What does the hymen look like?

The hymen is a thin film with a hole in the center covering the outer opening of the female vagina. It is located at the junction of the vagina and the vestibule. Both sides of the plastic film are light pink and the surface is moist. The hymen of adolescents is smaller and thicker. As girls grow and develop, the hymen will gradually become larger and thinner, and have greater elasticity. The hymen of an adult woman is about 1 to 2 mm thick, with connective tissue, capillaries and peripheral nerves in between.

The hymen is a tissue present in a variety of female animals, including African elephants, walruses, lemurs, guinea pigs, and humans. The human hymen has a hole in the middle and is not completely closed. It is a transparent connective tissue membrane that completely or partially covers the interface of the vagina. Both sides of the membrane are light pink, the surface is moist, and it has rich vascular tissue and a small number of nerves.

In the center of the broken hymen, there is a small round hole with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 cm, which is called "hymen hole" in medicine. Menstrual fluid can be discharged from the body through this small round hole. The shape of this small round hole is different for each person. According to the shape of the hole, the hymen hole can be divided into more than 30 types, such as circular, oval, annular, sieve, umbrella, lobed, star, septum separated, half-moon, crescent, and mouth. Only a very small number of women are born without a hymen, while another very small number of women have no porosity on their hymen, which is a kind of "stone woman" in folk customs. The pathophysiology is called hymen occlusion. This condition makes it impossible for women to have menstruation during their menstrual period. They often find that their menstruation is delayed during puberty, accompanied by regular abdominal pain. The treatment is usually hymenotomy.

When the hymen is broken, it can only be observed by exposing the private parts, and its appearance varies. Hymen scar is formed after the hymen is ruptured.