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The hymen is a thin piece of mucosal tissue that surrounds or partially covers the vaginal opening. A small percentage of females are born with hymens that are imperforate and completely obstruct the vaginal canal. It forms part of the vulva and is similar in structure to the vagina. (2025). 9781842141991, Parthenon. ISBN 9781842141991 The word is from the Greek ὑμήν meaning a thin skin or membrane. Many mammals possess hymens due to similar reproductive development.
In children, a common appearance of the hymen is crescent-shaped, although many shapes are possible. Each shape in the natural range has a Latinate name. During puberty, estrogen causes the hymen to change in appearance and become very elastic. Normal variations of the post-pubertal hymen range from thin and stretchy to thick and somewhat rigid. Very rarely, it may be completely absent.
The hymen can rip or tear during first penetrative intercourse, which usually results in pain and, sometimes, mild temporary bleeding or spotting. Minor injuries to the hymen may heal on their own, and not require surgical intervention. Historically, it was believed that first penetration was necessarily traumatic, but now sources differ on how common tearing or bleeding are as a result of first intercourse. Therefore, the state of the hymen is not a reliable indicator of virginity, though "" remains a common practice in some cultures, sometimes accompanied by Hymenorrhaphy to give the appearance of virginity. International health organizations condemn virginity testing as harmful. Historically, it was also misinterpreted in medicine as evidence of female hysteria.
The hymen has dense innervation. In newborn babies, still under the influence of the mother's hormones, the hymen is thick, pale pink, and redundant (folds in on itself and may protrude). For the first two to four years of life, the infant produces hormones that continue this effect.McCann, J; Rosas, A. and Boos, S. (2003) "Child and adolescent sexual assaults (childhood sexual abuse)" in Payne-James, Jason; Busuttil, Anthony and Smock, William (eds). Forensic Medicine: Clinical and Pathological Aspects, Greenwich Medical Media: London, a)p.453, b)p.455 c)p.460. Their hymenal opening tends to be annular (circumferential). (2025). 9780195074253, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195074253
Post neonatal stage, the diameter of the hymenal opening (measured within the hymenal ring) widens by approximately 1 mm for each year of age. During puberty, estrogen causes the hymen to become very elastic and .
The hymen can stretch or tear as a result of various behaviors, by the use of or , pelvic examinations with a speculum, or sexual intercourse. Remnants of the hymen are called carunculae myrtiformes.
A glass or plastic rod of 6 mm diameter having a globe on one end with varying diameter from 10 to 25 mm, called a Glaister Keen rod, is used for close examination of the hymen or the degree of its rupture. In forensic medicine, it is recommended by health authorities that a physician who must swab near this area of a prepubescent girl avoid the hymen and swab the outer vulval vestibule instead. In cases of suspected rape or child sexual abuse, a detailed examination of the hymen may be performed, but the condition of the hymen alone is often inconclusive.
Prepubescent hymenal openings come in many shapes, depending on hormonal and activity level, the most common being crescentic (posterior rim): no tissue at the 12 Clock position; crescent-shaped band of tissue from 1–2 to 10–11 o'clock, at its widest around 6 o'clock. From puberty onwards, depending on estrogen and activity levels, the hymenal tissue may be thicker, and the opening is often fimbriated or erratically shaped. In younger children, a torn hymen will typically heal very quickly. In adolescents, the hymenal opening can naturally extend and variation in shape and appearance increases.
Variations of the female reproductive tract can result from agenesis or hypoplasia, canalization defects, lateral fusion and failure of resorption, resulting in various complications.
In several studies of adolescent female rape survivors, where patients were examined at a hospital following sexual assault, half or fewer of survivors who had not had penetration previously had any injury to the hymen. Tears of the hymen occurred in less than a quarter of cases. However, subjects that previously had not had penetrative intercourse were significantly more likely to have sustained injuries to the hymen than subjects who were found to have had penetrative intercourse.
In a study of adolescents who had previously had consensual sex, approximately half showed evidence of trauma to the hymen. Trauma to the hymen may also occur in adult non-virgins following consensual sex, although it is rare. Trauma to the hymen may heal without any visible sign of injury. An observational study of adolescent sexual assault victims found that majority of wounds to the hymen healed without any visible sign of injury having occurred.
Trauma to the hymen is hypothesized to occur as a result of various other behaviors, such as tampon or menstrual cup use, pelvic examinations with a speculum, masturbation, gymnastics, or horseback riding, although the true prevalence of trauma as a result of these activities is unclear.
Some traditional Christian theological interpretations state that it is intended by God for the husband to be the one to break his wife's hymen, and that the bleeding the hymen, believed occur during first intercourse (but see above), is a blood covenant that seals the bond of holy matrimony between husband and wife (cf. consummation).
Anatomic variations
Normal variations of the hymen range from thin and stretchy to thick and somewhat rigid. An imperforate hymen occurs in 1-2 out of 1,000 infants. The only variation that may require medical intervention is the imperforate hymen, which either completely prevents the normal passage of menstrual fluid or slows it significantly. In either case, surgical intervention may be needed to allow menstrual fluid to pass or intercourse to take place at all.
(2025). 9780781768054, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 9780781768054
Trauma
Historically, it was believed that first sexual intercourse was necessarily traumatic to the hymen and always resulted in the hymen being "broken" or torn, causing bleeding. However, research on women in Western populations has found that bleeding during first intercourse does not invariably occur. In one cross-cultural study, slightly more than half of all women self-reported bleeding during first intercourse, with significantly different levels of pain and bleeding reported depending on their region of origin. Not all women experience pain, and one study found a correlation between the experience of strong emotions – such as excitement, nervousness, or fear – with experiencing pain during first intercourse.
Cultural and religious significance
The hymen is often attributed important cultural significance in certain communities because of its association with a woman's virginity. In those cultures, an intact hymen is highly valued at marriage in the belief that this is a proof of virginity. Some women undergo hymenorrhaphy to restore their hymen for this reason. In October 2018, the UN Human Rights Council, UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that virginity testing must end as "it is a painful, humiliating and traumatic practice, constituting violence against women".
(2021). 9781664212329, WestBow Press. ISBN 9781664212329
Womb fury
In the 16th and 17th centuries, medical researchers mistakenly saw the presence or absence of the hymen as founding evidence of physical diseases such as "womb-fury", i.e., female hysteria. If not cured, womb-fury would, according to doctors practicing at the time, result in death.The linkage between the hymen and social elements of control has been taken up in Marie Loughlin's book Hymeneutics: Interpreting Virginity on the Early Modern Stage published in 1997
Other animals
Due to similar reproductive system development, many mammals have hymens, including , , , whales, horses and .
See also
External links
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