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Female urethra
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Female urethra feminina, urethra feminina, is an unpaired organ that starts from the bladder with the inner opening of the urethrae internum and ends with the outer opening of the urethrae externum, which opens anteriorly and above the vaginal opening. Female urethra is a short, slightly curved and convex backward tube of 2.5-3.5 cm in length and 8-12 mm in diameter. On its way the female urethra is fused with the anterior wall of the vagina. Going down, the female urethra curves around the bottom and behind the lower edge of the pubic symphysis, perforating the urethral diaphragm.
In the wall of the female urethra, the mucous membrane and the muscular membrane are distinguished.
The mucosa (tunica mucosa) on its surface has longitudinal folds and indentations - the lacunae of the urethra (lacunae urethrales), and glands of the urethra (glandulae urethrales) are located in the thickness of the mucosa. Especially strongly developed fold of the mucosa on the back of the urethra; it has the appearance of a crest of the urethra (crista urethralis).
Outside the mucous membrane is the muscular tunica (tunica muscularis), in which the inner longitudinal and outer circular layers are distinguished. The circular layer, fused with the muscular membrane of the bladder, covers the inner opening of the female urethra, forming an involuntary sphincter. In the lower part, at the place of passage through the urogenital diaphragm, the female urethra is surrounded by bundles of muscle fibers, forming an arbitrary sphincter (m.sphincter urethrae).
The urethra of the newborn girl has a length of 2.3-3.0 cm, a relatively wide one, in the lower part is curved, forms an obtuse angle, open anteriorly. The muscular membrane of the canal and the sphincter (external) of the urethra are formed in childhood (by 12-13 years).
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