[94]
The nymphae form the intermediate portal of the vagina, as the canal which
conducts to the womb was in anatomy first termed (according to Hyrtl) by
De Graaf.[95] It is a secreting, erectile, more or less sensitive canal
lined by what is usually considered mucous membrane, though some have
regarded it as integument of the same character as that of the external
genitals; it certainly resembles such integument more than, for instance,
the mucous membrane of the rectum. In the woman who has never had sexual
intercourse and has been subjected to no manipulations or accidents
affecting this region, the vagina is closed by a last and final gate of
delicate membrane--scarcely admitting more than a slender finger--called
the hymen.
The poets called the hymen "fios virginitatis," the flower of
virginity, whence the medico-legal term _defloratio_.
Notwithstanding the great significance which has long been
attached to the phenomena connected with it, the hymen was not
accurately known until Vesalius, Fallopius, and Spigelius
described and named it. It was, however, recognized by the Arab
authors, Avicenna and Averroes. The early literature concerning
it is summarized by Schurig, _Muliebria_, 1729, Section II, cap.
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