The labia minora (Latin for 'smaller lips', : labium minus), also known as the inner labia, inner lips, or nymphae, nymphae . Dictionary.com. Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc. (accessed: November 24, 2007). are two flaps of skin that are part of the primate vulva, extending outwards from the inner vaginal and Urethral meatus openings to encompass the Vulval vestibule. At the glans clitoridis, each labium splits, above forming the clitoral hood, and below the frenulum of the clitoris. At the bottom, the labia meet at the labial commissure. The labia minora vary widely in size, color and shape from individual to individual.
The labia minora are situated between the labia majora and together form the labia. The labia minora are homologous to the penile raphe and ventral penile skin in males.
On the front, each lip forks dividing into two portions surrounding the clitoris. The upper part of each lip passes above the clitoris to meet the upper part of the other lip—which will often be a little larger or smaller—forming a fold which overhangs the glans clitoridis (clitoral tip or head); this fold is named the clitoral hood. The lower part passes beneath the glans clitoridis and becomes united to its under surface, forming, with the inner lip of the opposite side, the frenulum clitoridis.
The clitoral hood typically covers the shaft and sometimes the glans — which is highly sensitive to touch — helping protect the clitoris from mechanical irritation and dryness. However, the hood is movable and can slide during clitoral erection or be gently pulled back to increase exposure of the clitoris to sexual stimulation.
Like the whole area of the vulval vestibule, the mucus secreted by those glands protects the labia from dryness and mechanical irritation.
From 2003 to 2004, researchers from the Department of Gynaecology, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in London, measured the labia and other genital structures of 50 women from the age of 18 to 50, with a mean age of 35.6. The study has since been criticized for its "small and homogenous sample group" consisting primarily of white women. The results were:
Clitoris length (mm) | 5–35 | 19.1 8.7 |
Clitoral glans width (mm) | 3–10 | 5.5 1.7 |
Clitoris to urethra (mm) | 16–45 | 28.5 7.1 |
Labia majora length (cm) | 7.0–12.0 | 9.3 1.3 |
Labia minora length (mm) | 20–100 | 60.6 17.2 |
Labia minora width (mm) | 5–60 | 21.8 9.4 |
Perineum length (mm) | 15–55 | 31.3 8.5 |
length (cm) | 6.5–12.5 | 9.6 1.5 |
Tanner scale (n) | IV | 4 |
V | 46 | |
Colour of genital area compared with surrounding skin (n) | Same | 9 |
Darker | 41 | |
Rugosity of labia (n) | Smooth | 14 |
Moderate | 34 | |
Marked | 2 |
Due to the frequent portrayal of the pudendal cleft without protrusion in art and pornography, there has been a rise in the popularity of labiaplasty, surgery to alter the labia—usually, to make them smaller. On the other hand, there is an opposite movement of labia stretching. Its proponents stress the beauty of long labia and their positive role in sexual stimulation of both partners.
Labiaplasty is also sometimes sought by women who have asymmetrical labia minora to adjust the shape of the structures towards identical size.
Labia stretching has traditionally been practised in some African nations in the East and South and the South Pacific.Robert Suggs, Marquesan Sexual Behavior New, pp. 39–42
As the Urinary meatus is also situated between labia minora, they may play a role in guiding the stream of the urine during Urination.
The likelihood of inflammation may be reduced through appropriate regular hygienic cleansing of the whole vulval vestibule, using water and medically tested cleansing agents designed for vulvas. To avoid contamination of the vulva with fecal bacteria, it is recommended that the vulva is washed only from front to back, from mons pubis to the perineum and Human anus. Apart from water and special liquid cleansing agents (lotions), there are commercially available for female intimate hygiene. Some women wipe the vulval vestibule dry with toilet tissue after urination to avoid irritation and infections from residual drops of the urine in the area.
However, incorrect choice of cleansing agents, or their incorrect application, may itself cause labial irritation and require medical attention. Over-vigorous rubbing of the labia of little girls while washing, combined with the lack of estrogen in their bodies, may lead to the mostly pediatric condition known as labial fusion. If fused labia prevent urination, urine may accumulate and cause pain and inflammation.
In adult females, irritation of the area may be caused by wearing too-tight underwear (especially where wider inner labia protrude in the pudendal cleft); while , which rub against the labia during body movements, may cause irritation or lead to infection from bacteria transferred from either the external environment or the anus.
When the labia vulvae are closed together, they form a pudendal cleft. The joining of the labia vulvae top and bottom are respectively referred to as the anterior and posterior commissures.
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