Vagina

The vagina is a muscular and tubular part of the female genital tract, which in humans extends from the vulva to the uterus. The outer vaginal opening may be partly covered by a membrane called the hymen. At the deep end, the cervix (neck of the uterus) bulges into the vagina. The vagina allows for sexual intercourse and childbirth, and channels menstrual flow, which occurs periodically as part of the menstrual cycle.

The location and structure of the vagina varies among species, and may vary in size within the same species. Unlike mammalian males, who usually have the external urethral opening as the only opening for urination and reproduction, mammalian females usually have the urethral opening for urination and the vaginal opening for the genital tract. The vaginal opening is much larger than the nearby urethral opening, and both are protected by the labia in humans. In amphibians, birds, reptiles and monotremes, the cloaca is the single external opening for the gastrointestinal tract and the urinary and reproductive tracts.