Age features of female genital organs
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The ovary in the newborn girl has a cylindrical shape. During the second childhood (8-12 years) the shape of the ovary becomes ovoid. The length of the ovary in a newborn is 1.5-3.0 cm, width 4-8 mm. During the first childhood, the length becomes 2.5 cm. In adolescence and adolescence, the length of the ovary increases to 5 cm, the width reaches 3 cm, and the thickness is 1.5 cm. The ovary mass in the newborn is 0.16 g, in infancy ( up to 1 year) - 0.84 g, during the first childhood (4-7 years) - 3.3 g and in adolescence - 6.03 g. In women after 40-50 years, the weight of the ovaries decreases, and after 60- 70 years there is a gradual atrophy of the ovaries. The surface of the ovaries is smooth in newborns and in infancy. Beginning with adolescence on their surface appear irregularities, tuberosity due to swelling of ripening follicles and the presence of yellow bodies in the tissue of the ovary. In newborns in the tissue of the ovaries there are primordial follicles, in infancy, primary ovarian follicles appear. In adolescence in the cortical ovaries, secondary (bladder) follicles are formed, which on the sections of the organ have the appearance of cavities with light contents. In newborns, the ovaries are still located outside the pelvic cavity, above the pubic symphysis, and are strongly inclined anteriorly. By 3-5 years, the ovaries, as a result of the downward displacement and turning about their long axis by about 90 °, acquire a transverse position. To the period of the first childhood (4-7 years), the ovaries descend into the cavity of the small pelvis, where they take the position that is typical of them in an adult woman.
Uterus in the newborn, in infancy and in early childhood (up to 3 years) has a cylindrical shape, flattened in anteroposterior direction. During the second childhood the uterus becomes round, its bottom widens. In adolescents, the uterus becomes pear-shaped. This form is preserved in an adult woman. The length of the uterus in the newborn is 3.5 cm (2/5 of its length is the cervix), by 10 years it increases to 3 cm, in adolescence - up to 5.5 cm. In an adult female, the length of the uterus is 6-8 cm. The period of the second childhood (8-12 years), the length of the body and the cervix are almost the same, in adolescents the body length of the uterus relatively increases, and in adolescence reaches 5 cm.
The mass of the uterus grows slowly at first, and then quickly. In a newborn, the weight of the uterus is 3-5 g, in adolescence (12-15 years) - about 6.5 grams, and in adolescence (16-20 years) - 25-30 grams. The maximum mass (45-80 g) the uterus is aged 30-40 years, and after 50 years its mass gradually decreases.
The cervical canal in a newborn is wide, usually contains a mucous plug. The mucous membrane of the uterus forms branched folds, which by 6-7 years are smoothed. Uterus glands are few, but as the age of the girl increases, their number increases, the structure becomes more complicated, and by the time of puberty they become branched. The muscular membrane of the uterus, which is underdeveloped in a newborn girl, thickens during the growth of the uterus, especially after 5-6 years.
In newborns, the uterus is tilted anteriorly. The cervix is directed downwards and backwards. The uterus is located high, protruding above the pubic symphysis. Ligament of the uterus is weak, so it easily shifts to the sides. After 7 years in the circumference of the uterus, a large amount of connective and adipose tissue appears between the sheets of her broad ligaments. As the size of the pelvis increases and in connection with the lowering of the organs located in it, the uterus gradually shifts downwards and takes place in adolescence as a characteristic of this organ in a sexually mature woman. In elderly and senile age in connection with the reduction of adipose tissue in the cavity of the small pelvis the mobility of the uterus increases.
Fallopian tubes of the newborn are curved and do not touch the ovaries. During puberty (in adolescence), due to the growth of the uterus, its broad ligaments and the increase in the cavity of the small pelvis, the fallopian tubes lose tortuosity, drop downwards, approach the ovaries. The length of the uterine tube in a newborn is about 3.5 cm, during puberty it increases rapidly. In elderly women, the wall of the uterine tube is sharply thin due to atrophy of the muscular membrane, the folds of the mucous membrane are smoothed out.
The vagina of the newborn is short (2.5-3.5 cm), curved arched, its anterior wall shorter than the posterior. The lower part of the vagina is facing anteriorly. As a result, the longitudinal axis of the vagina with the uterine axis forms an obtuse angle, open anteriorly. The vaginal opening is narrow. Up to 10 years, the vagina varies little, growing rapidly in adolescence.
The pubis in the newborn girl is convex, the large labia is friable, as if swollen. Small labia lips are covered with large labia not completely. The vestibule of the vagina is deep, especially in the anterior part of the vagina, where the external opening of the urethra is located. In the posterior third, the vestibule is confined to the labia majora, and in the anterior regions small; hymen is dense. The glands of the vestibule in the newborn are poorly developed.
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