Your Body, Your Knowledge: A Complete Guide to Female Anatomy Part One

Your body is your home, and it's yours to understand. At Lena, we want to support women at each stage of life in understanding their bodies and their menstrual cycle. We believe that body literacy enables us to live in harmony with our natural rhythms and celebrate the beauty of the female body; we also believe it is a vital tool in being able to advocate for ourselves during health consultations.

In the first half of this series, we'll explore the vulva, the clitoris, the internal female organs and the vagina. You can expect an in-depth explanation of each, what's normal and further resources to expand your knowledge further. 

Why Knowing Your Anatomy Makes You a Better Advocate For Yourself

When we know ourselves inside and out, we are able to detect problems or recognise changes in ourselves that could be a cause for concern. We believe that learning about the variation between bodies (vulvas, clitorises, breasts) helps us to appreciate that difference is not something to be afraid of. Each of our bodies is unique and should be celebrated.

Being given the language to describe your experience is key to communicating with medical professionals. In a culture where women are so often dismissed, minimised and sent away without answers, knowledge becomes a form of protection.

When we are equipped with a deeper understanding, we are able to walk into medical spaces with greater confidence. We can ask better questions and push back when something doesn't feel right.

Understanding Your Vulva

The vulva is your external genitalia - the parts of your reproductive anatomy that are visible on the outside. It is made up of the labia majora, labia minora, the vaginal opening, the urethral opening, the Bartholin's glands and the external part of the clitoris.

One of the most important things to understand is that the vulva and the vagina are not the same thing. The vagina is the internal canal, while the vulva is everything you can see on the outside. 

Image credits: Hello Clue Website

The labia majora are the outer, thicker lips of the vulva and are usually covered in pubic hair. They act as a protective layer for the more sensitive structures beneath. Labia majora vary hugely from person to person in size, shape and colour - all of which is completely normal.

The labia minora are the inner, thinner lips that sit inside the labia majora, surrounding the vaginal and urethral openings. They have no hair follicles and are rich in nerve endings. Labia minora also vary significantly in size, shape and colour, they may be barely visible or may extend beyond the labia majora, and both are entirely normal.

There is no standard or correct appearance, despite what popular culture or pornography may have suggested. If your labia minora cause you discomfort during exercise, sex or daily life, seek support from your doctor or healthcare professional.

The Bartholin's glands are two small glands located on either side of the vaginal opening, which secrete fluid that helps to lubricate the vagina during arousal. They are not usually visible or noticeable. Occasionally, these glands may become blocked, causing a build-up of fluid and resulting in a painless swelling (known as a Bartholin's cyst). If you notice this swelling, don't panic, they are usually managed just with home treatment and drainage. Seek support from your doctor promptly to avoid them getting infected.

The urethral opening is the small opening through which urine passes. It sits just above the vaginal opening and below the clitoris, separate from both.

The Clitoris: The Most Misunderstood Part of Female Anatomy

The clitoris is a female sex organ, part of the vulva. Most people think of the clitoris as the small, pea-sized structure above the vaginal opening, this is known as the glans clitoris - and is really the tip of the iceberg. The majority of the clitoris structure is inside, known as the body of the clitoris, which can measure up to 9-11cm.

The clitoris has 10,000+ nerve endings and for most women and people with vaginas, it is the main site of sexual pleasure. Orgasm via the clitoris can be achieved by direct stimulation of the outer clitoris (the glans) or during vaginal penetration. This is because the body of the clitoris wraps around the vaginal canal, so is stimulated during penetrative sex.

Inside Your Body: The Vagina, Cervix, Uterus and Ovaries Explained

The vagina is a muscular, elastic canal that connects your vulva to your cervix and uterus. It is around 7–10cm long, though it can expand significantly during arousal and childbirth. The vagina is a self-cleaning machine - it maintains its own delicate pH balance through natural discharge, which is entirely normal and healthy.

Discharge also varies in colour, consistency and volume throughout your cycle, and learning to read these changes is a powerful form of body literacy. The vagina does not need to be cleaned internally, products such as douches and heavily scented washes can disrupt its natural microbiome and cause irritation, infection and imbalance.

Your cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus (your womb) that sits at the top of the vaginal canal. It feels firm and round, like the tip of your nose, and has a small central opening called the os, through which menstrual blood passes out of the uterus and sperm can travel in.

The position of your cervix changes throughout your cycle. Around ovulation it sits higher, is softer and it opens slightly, while in the days before your period it sits lower and feels firmer. If you use a menstrual cup, understanding your cervical position is particularly useful, as it can affect which cup size and shape works best for you.

The cervix is also the site of cervical screening (the pap smear/smear test), which is why attending regularly is so important.

The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped muscular organ that sits in your pelvis, between your bladder and your rectum. It is around the size of a closed fist and is where a fertilised egg implants and a pregnancy develops. Each month, in response to hormonal signals, the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, thickens in preparation for a potential pregnancy.

If pregnancy does not occur, this lining sheds, and that shedding is your period. The uterus can be affected by conditions such as fibroids, adenomyosis and endometrial cancer, which is why paying attention to changes in your bleeding pattern (such as heavier periods, unusual pain, bleeding between periods) is so important.

Your ovaries are two small, almond-shaped glands that sit on either side of the uterus, connected to it by the fallopian tubes. They have two primary functions: producing eggs and producing hormones. Each month, one of your ovaries releases an egg in a process called ovulation, a key moment in your cycle that we will explore in depth in our dedicated cycle article.

Your ovaries also produce oestrogen and progesterone, the hormones that regulate your cycle, support bone density, influence mood and affect your skin, sleep and energy levels. As you approach menopause, your ovaries gradually reduce their hormone production, which is why the symptoms of perimenopause can be felt so widely across the body. We'll be going into more depth in our next article - Hormones 101 - about the role of these hormones and how to harness their power.

Further Resources

Here are some brilliant books and articles that you can use to deepen your understanding of the female body, hormones and the menstrual cycle:

• Understanding Your Menstrual Cycle - Lena Blog. We dive into the different stages of the menstrual cycle, what you can expect during each of them and how you might feel at different points in the month.
• In the Flux by Adrienne Adhami - A thoughtful, beautifully produced podcast exploring what it means to live in a female body. It covers cycle awareness, body literacy, hormonal health and the deeper connection between our physiology and our lived experience. 
• Period Power by Maisie Hill - Maisie Hill breaks down the four phases of the cycle with clarity and warmth, making it essential reading for anyone wanting to understand their body on a deeper level.
• Woman Code by Alisa Vitti - Vitti explores how female physiology differs fundamentally from male physiology and how understanding your cycle can transform your energy, mood, metabolism and health. Great for readers with PCOS or hormonal imbalances.

We really hope you have learned something valuable in this article, and are excited to continue this journey of knowing yourself better. Join us for part two, where you can expect to find everything about the breasts, pelvic floor, cervical position throughout the cycle, vaginal pH and its microbiome, and more.

Written and edited by Dr Rachel Denham, a trained medic and Women's Health Practitioner, who has worked across the charity and humanitarian sector and now specialises in women's health. Rachel is the creator of Bloody Nora, a women's health and wellbeing zine that fuses storytelling, art and science. 

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bartholin-cyst/symptoms-causes/syc-20369976
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/vulva
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22469-vagina