What does hymen mean?

The hymen is broken, also known as the urethral valve or vaginal valve. The former is mostly used in humans, and the latter is mostly used in other animals. There is a rampant mucosal fold at the bottom inner wall of the junction of the urogenital vestibule and the vagina, which is called the hymen. There is still controversy about the existence and effectiveness of the urethral valve (broken hymen).

1. Physiological structure

The hymen is a relic of neonatal persistence. When the female fetuses of African elephants, walruses, donkeys, horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, humans, dogs, gorillas and lemurs, some dolphin species (including whales), and some rodent species such as moles are born, the uterus and private parts of the vagina have not completely disappeared, which is called a broken hymen. In small animals such as donkeys, horses, cows, sheep, and pigs, the infection usually disappears during the fetal stage, leaving only a circle of plastic film imprint. In fact, these animals do have broken hymens, but their hymens are more obvious than those of humans. From the perspective of body function, it is the physiological tissue of the immature female insect.

2. Growth Process

The hymen appears, grows, and forms when the fetus is 3 to 4 months old. The shape and thickness of the hymen during puberty vary. Generally, the hymen of adolescents is smaller and thicker. With the growth and development of the female body, the hymen will gradually become larger and thinner, and have greater elasticity. The thickness of an adult woman's hymen is about 1 to 2 mm.

Puberty

The broken hymen covers the inner and outer exit of the vagina, which is about 1 to 2 mm thick. There is a small round hole in the middle, called the "hymen hole", with a diameter of 1 cm. It is generally circular, oval or serrated; some are crescent-shaped, with the hole biased towards one side; some are septum-shaped holes, with two small round holes arranged left and right or up and down; some have many scattered small round holes, like dice.

During menstruation, menstruation is discharged from the body through this small round hole. If there is no small round hole on the membrane, the menstruation will be blocked every month, accumulate in the vagina, and expand upward to the uterus and bilateral fallopian tubes, and even flow into the abdomen, causing bilateral fallopian tube damage, intestinal adhesions, and abdominal infection. This is medically called "hymen occlusion" and gynecological minimally invasive surgery is necessary.

Before puberty, because the uterus and ovaries metabolize less estrogen, the vaginal mucosa is thin, the walls are less wrinkled, the acidity is low, and the resistance is weak, the rupture of the hymen has the function of preventing bacteria from invading the vagina. After puberty, with the growth and development of the uterus and ovaries, the body's estrogen increases, the resistance of the vagina increases, and the hymen breaks and loses its function.

Old age

During the first sexual intercourse, the hymen is broken and torn, causing bleeding.

Because the hymen can be broken in many different ways, the degree of the breaking can vary greatly. When a septate hymen with two holes ruptures, there will be more bleeding and more intense pain. When the mouth-shaped hymen is broken, there will be less bleeding and basically no pain. The thick and very elastic umbrella-shaped hymen may not break at all after it breaks.

According to a survey of British gynecologists, about 30% of women have no bleeding or very little bleeding during their first sexual intercourse. This 30% includes the rupture of the highly elastic umbrella-shaped hymen, which may break after several sexual intercourses or after a more crazy sexual journey, but it does not necessarily bleed. It also includes the rupture of the porous sieve-shaped hymen, which is very easy to tear. It may have been torn for various reasons before the first sexual intercourse.

After pregnancy

Because the baby is delivered vaginally, the hymen is broken and further damaged. Sometimes only a few residual bumps remain, called hymen marks. This type of change is less likely to occur in women who give birth by caesarean section.