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vagina
(vә-jiŽnә)
pl. vagiŽnae
any sheath or sheathlike structure.
the canal in the female that extends from the external genitalia (vulva) to the cervix uteri. The adult vagina is normally about 8 cm (3 in) long and slopes upward and backward. Internally, the bladder is in front of the vagina and the rectum in back. The vagina receives the erect penis in coitus; spermatozoa are discharged into it, swim through the cervical canal, and enter the uterus. The vagina is also the passage for menstrual discharge, and it functions as the birth canal. Its interior lining is mucous membrane, and muscles and fibrous tissue form its walls. In pregnancy, changes occur in these tissues, enabling the vagina to stretch to many times its usual size for childbirth.

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