Labia minora

The labia minora (the Latin for small lips, singular: labium minus "small lip"), also known as the inner labia, inner lips, vaginal lips or nymphae,^[1] are two flaps of skin on either side of the human vaginal opening in the vulva, situated between the labia majora (the Latin for big lips; also called outer labia, or outer lips). Inner lips vary widely in size, color, and shape from individual to individual.

Structure and functioning

The inner lips extend from the clitoris obliquely downward, laterally, and backward on either side of the vulval vestibule, ending between the bottom of the vulval vestibule and the outer lips. The posterior ends (bottom) of the inner lips are usually joined across the middle line by a fold of skin, named the frenulum of labia minora or fourchette.

On the front, each lip forks dividing into two portions surrounding the clitoris. The upper part of each lip passes above the clitoris to meet the upper part of the other lip—which will often be a little larger or smaller—forming a fold which overhangs the glans clitoridis (clitoral tip or head); this fold is named the clitoral hood. The lower part passes beneath the glans clitoridis and becomes united to its under surface, forming, with the inner lip of the opposite side, the frenulum clitoridis.

The clitoral hood, analogously to the foreskin of the penis in men and also termed, like the latter, by the Latin word prepuce, serves to cover most of the time the shaft and sometimes the glans (which is very sensitive to the touch) to protect the clitoris from mechanical irritation and from dryness. Yet the hood is movable and can slide during clitoral erection or be pulled upwards a little for greater exposure of the clitoris to sexual stimulation.

The frenulum (Latin for little bridle) is an elastic band of tissue attached by its one end to the clitoral shaft and glans and by its other end to the prepuce. It allows two-way shifting of the clitoral hood: firstly, it can extend to let the hood be moved upwards to expose the glans for stimulation or hygienic cleansing, and, secondly. it contracts to pull the hood back to protect it.

Histology

On the opposed surfaces of the labia minora are numerous sebaceous glands not associated with hair follicles. They are lined by stratified squamous epithelium on those surfaces.^[2]

Like the whole area of vaginal vestibule, the mucus secreted by those glands protects the labia from dryness and mechanical irritation.

Variation

Human vulva with anatomical feature labels

Being thinner than the outer labia, the inner labia can be also more narrow than the former, or wider than labia majora, thus protruding in the pudendal cleft and making the term minora (Latin for smaller) essentially inapplicable in these cases.

The reception of wider and/or longer labia varies considerably between different people, with some men and women stressing on Internet forums the beauty of bigger labia while other women who have such ones complain of some discomfort either from mechanical irritation by their tighter clothes or from their own or their peers' negative attitude to the image of less compact female genitalia than is stereotypical for them.

They can also be smooth or frilled, the latter being more typical of longer or wider inner labia.

From 2003 to 2004, researchers from the Department of Gynaecology, Elizabeth Garret Anderson Hospital in London, measured the labia and other genital structures of 50 women from the age of 18 to 50, with a mean age of 35.6. The results were:^[3]

Due to the frequent portrayal of the pudendal cleft without protrusion in art and pornography, there has been a rise in the popularity of labiaplasty, surgery to alter the labia - usually, to make them smaller.^[4] On the other hand, there is an opposite movement of labia stretching. Its proponents stress the beauty of long labia and their positive role in sexual stimulation of both partners.

Labiaplasty is also sometimes sought for purely aesthetic reasons by women who have asymmetrical labia minora to correct the shape of the structures towards identical size.

labia stretching has traditionally been practised in some African nations.

Functioning

The inner lips serve to protect from mechanical irritation, dryness and infections the highly sensitive area of the vulvar vestibule with vaginal and urethral openings in it between them. During vaginal sexual intercourse they may contribute to stimulation of the whole vestibule area, the clitoris and the vagina of the woman and the penis of her partner. Stimulation of the clitoris may occur through tension of the clitoral hood and its frenulum by inner labia pulling at them. During sexual arousal they are lubricated by the mucus secreted in the vagina and around it to make penetration painless and protect from them from irritation.

As the female external urethral opening (meatus) is also situated between labia minora, they may play a role in guiding the stream of the urine during female urination.

Medical conditions

Being very sensitive by their structure to any irritation and situated in the excretion area where there occurs presence of urine, vaginal discharge, smegma and even faeces, the inner lips may suffer from inflammatory infections of the vulva such as vulvitis.

Prevention of inflammations can be performed with the help of correct regular hygienic cleansing of the whole vulvar vestibule, using water and medically tested cleansing agents specially designed for female intimate areas since infancy. To avoid contamination of the vulva with fecal bacteria, it is recommended to wash the vulva only from front to back, from mons pubis to the perinum and anus. Apart from water and special liquid cleansing agents (lotions), there are commercially available wet wipes for the female intimate hygiene. Some women wipe the vulvar vestibule dry with toilet tissue after urination to avoid irritation and infections from residual drops of the urine in the area.

Yet incorrect choice of cleansing agents and/or their incorrect application may itself cause labia irritation and require medical aasistance. Thus, too vigorous rubbing of the labia of little girls while washing together with lack of estrogen in their bodies may lead to mostly pediatric condition known as labial fusion. If fused labia prevent urination, urine may accumulate and cause pain and inflammation.

In older females, irritation of the area may be caused by wearing too tight underwear (especially in the case of wider inner labia protruding in the pudendal cleft) and by wearing G-string which rubs against the labia during body movements and may make them irritated and infected with bacteria from the outside and/or those it transfers fromm the anus.

Additional images

• 
  Organs of the female reproductive system.
• 
  Outer anatomy of clitoris.
• 
  Labia minora. Deep dissection.

See also

• Labia stretching
• Labiaplasty

References

• This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)