Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Hymen-ology

Hey people! It's been quite sometime since my last proper post. I'm sorry for the lack of consistency in posting items and yes, I'm still going to use this blog for my teaching.

The problem is I've been bogged down by so much work lately that I didn't have the time to surf around looking for good stuff and so I didn't have any inspiration to put up new stuff here. Until recently... ;)

A discussion in class with the 107/307 group on sexual reproduction lately led to a question about the hymen. Some didn't know what it was and others didn't know what it looked like. So I've decided to take this opportunity to educate. This post is going to be all about the hymen!

A hymen is the thin piece of tissue (more correctly a fold of mucous membrane) which surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening. It is sometimes called the maidenhead or cherry. It is named after the Greek god Hymenaeus, the god of marriage and has no known biological function.

The hymen varies in size and shape from woman to woman. The hymen usually does not cover the entire vaginal opening, since there must be some way for the menstrual fluid, or period, to leave the body. The most common formation of the hymen is crescentic or crescent-shaped, although several other formations are possible (go to http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/hymen.html for some of these formations).

The hymen can be torn or dilated while participating in sports like cycling, horseback riding, gymnastics or inserting tampons, or even while masturbating (which I don't recommend you do!). There may be little or no blood or pain involved when this happens and so, may go unnoticed. Knowing that there are many ways through which the hymen can tear helps us to understand that the presence or absence of a hymen in no way indicates whether or not a female is a virgin (you are a virgin until you have sexual intercourse). Anyway, some hymens are elastic enough to permit a penis to enter without tearing, or they tear only partially, and there is no bleeding at all.

Alright, I don't know if this answers all your questions but I'm hoping it at least answers some of the main questions.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahah! very very interesting sir... never knew myself.. :) yes, it answered my question, mr jaya ;)

Shine said...

OBJECTION!

Female masturbation is highly recommended.

Proof:
http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/masturbation.html
(UIUC is my uni)

For more info and intricate details Mr. Jaya won't tell you, PM me xD

See? I am such a helpful senior, sir.

Shine said...

Oh, and it might also be interesting to note that unlike depicted in the picture, one cannot view the hymen directly, as illustrated.

Anonymous said...

hey shine, didn't know your uni researched on masturbation. all that paper shows is that masturbation is 'normal'. but by now you should have realised that just because something's 'normal' it does not make it 'right'. no? and i really don't think you're an authority on health issues so i would not recommend anyone go see you either. ;p oh and would you like to qualify your last statement?

Jasper said...

All i can say is...

LOL Shine! XD!

Owh and it IS possible to view the hymen directly, although probably not clearly as is illustrated in the diagram.
But then again it depends on the individual. (Some hymens are more prominent than others?)

All this is from a friend of mine who is a gynecologist.

...

Is it not right to be normal, even though being normal isn't always right? ;)

Anonymous said...

WOW! I never know your teaching blog is so 'interesting'. Intricate can i say that?

well, I must agree here that what is normal and 'feel good' is not always right.

and yes, its true, some ladies hymen can be seen, and others can, depending on the size of the vagina opening too.

Anonymous said...

It's really interesting and the picture is the clearest i have ever seen.
From what i know, we can actually see the hymen, but without knowing or realising it. We only realise when it's torn coz then it becomes obvious.
Trust me, this is ladies' topic!!
haha..

Nadia said...

0_0

Curious students... =)

How come we never that this kind of information during our days back in KDU?

Oh yea. Last year, I came across this article in The Star newspaper [we read The West Australian here in Perth, sucks] and it was about cosmetic surgery on reattaching/repairing the hymen. I was like 0_o

I mean, why would someone do such a thing? A woman is now able to re'virgin'ise themselves. LOL.

It costs about RM25000 I think.

Interested Shine? HAHAHA

Anonymous said...

hey 'chili padi', rules of this blog is no anonymous comments so you'll have to tell us who you are leh. and just so everyone knows, 'science junkies' is my friend mr khai chung (soon to be dr ang) who's teaching in inti college nilai.
nadia that's really interesting indeed! and sorry lah i didnt post such 'interesting' topics when you guys were around. :) well you still get to access it anyways.

Anonymous said...

LONG LIVE OPPOSITION .I noe this has nothin to do with hymens tearing but eh lol hows u sir haha very interestin eh ... how come u neva educated us this much when we were in kdu .. tsk tsk

Anonymous said...

maybe cos you guys never asked such questions when you were in KDU? ;p

Anonymous said...

eh we could have if u told us too :P i had lots of questions actually thing is lol u neva noe the others rite lol sensitive issue LOOOL .. i wuz shy LOL..

liv said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
liv said...

Hey mr jaya...
Didn't know that we asked so many more questions than the seniors did. No wonder we felt so knowledgable after all the sexual reproduction classes. Just to make them jealous, the video on birth labour was great! GG! =P

Anonymous said...

Wow...so many questions on hymen...hmmm...Mr. J is teaching all the necessary knowledge...aren't you all lucky kids...!

Anonymous said...

li via, don't lah rub it in. the seniors come after you then you know. :p
and who may i ask is this anonymous? name please!

Anonymous said...

and shatish, yes you can put up a link to my blog in yours. i have no problem with that. :)

Anonymous said...

our classes were boring! why didnt you teach us these topics sir???? ( kidding kidding ) oh i still come here from time to time hehe

Anonymous said...

ouch ulwy! ;(
and i did teach you the topic. just never posted anything about it on the blog.

liv said...

Remember to bring me a live panda from da singapore zoo,k mr jaya? Btw, zoo negara was "inspiring".

Anonymous said...

that was sarcasm wans't it? *raised eyebrow*
well i didn't bring no pandas home but my trip was really inspiring. the night safari was simply excellent. i'll try and post pictures if i have any to post but i couldn't take many picture since we were not allowed to use flash photography as these nocturnal animals have very sensitive eyes.

Anonymous said...

yes, the singapore night safari is like the best ive ever been sir! Really enjoyed it... but you know sir, didnt really feel close to nature there, i prefered jungle trecking at tmn negara, its so much like nature as it is, tho, there werent many animals... :)

Anonymous said...

yeah i know what you mean. but taman negara is a different feeling altogether. you dont want to see a tiger up close in taman negara alright. ;)

Jasper said...

tigers can actually be quite placid in the wild

No im not saying u shud pet any but i think id be more nervous if i was approached by say a baboon than a tiger

no jokes guys

Ornery lil red assed buggers those lot

Anonymous said...

hahah! yeah, i get you sir.. :) and jas, u really sure you prefer baboons to tigers? LOL i think, baboon better la.. atleast u wont be dinner o lunch ryte? :P

Jasper said...

id rather be dinner lunch supper or breakfast all at once than be gangraped by a bunch of std infested primates

baboons are bisexual

'nuff said

Anonymous said...

LOL... WHAT NONSENSE... how can a group of baboons rape a man? and btw, even if they were bisexual, jas, doncha think they'd be raping/mating with their own kind? another baboon?

Shine said...

This blog wins in every way.

Case in point, if you can afford a 25k revirginization surgery, well, quite obviously you aren't a virgin.

Show me a super rich 20+ year old virgin, and I'll show you a Paris Hilton in disguise.

As a follow up to chili padi, it's a girl's topic, but a man's field of study.

As to the connection between normal/feels good and right, define what is 'right' to me.

Witch burning was right 400 years ago.
Jewish genocide was right to Germans 50 years ago.

Tell me what makes masturbation wrong?

Yes, I am trolling.

Jasper said...

Didnt you see Rundown?
(movie acted in by Dwayne "TheRock" Johnson)

Baboons will "mate" with any bipedal mammal in proximity

NO I AM NOT A BABOON!

-_- _#_
^ censored

Anonymous said...

lol... hey jas, i din say ur a baboon, and i din noe la... thats why i asked... din mean to offend anyone :P

Shine said...

ok, since when did the topic diverge to monkey sex?
I suspect jaspreet has a hand in this...

Regardless, bestiality is both abnormal AND wrong.

Anonymous said...

hahah... atleast i learnt something new..LOL

Anonymous said...

gosh! Just googled bestiality and never knew there was such a thing! YUCKS!!!!!!!!!

Shine said...

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=identical-twins-genes-are-not-identical

what is being taught now is FALSE!!!

Jasper said...

Sakun: LOL! ROFL LMAO!

"Google is your friend"
- Jaya "MastaJ" Kumar, 2006/'07 -

"Friends are those that show you just how much the truth can hurt"
- anon, about 1000 years ago -

"AAArrrgh! Make me unsee that!"
- The Pussy(Cat), about 1000 years ago -

Anonymous said...

shine, i thought i've always told you guys that there are differences in the genome even of identical twins?

Shine said...

You DID?

... I don't remember, sir.

Jasper said...

Mr.ComputerScientist needs to upgrade his RAM

Shine said...

Shut up jaspreet. That was not funny.

WizWom said...

A few issues:
Female masturbation: what medical issues does female masturbation cause, that you should state it should not be done?

If it is merely a moral stance, which is implied by your calling it "right," I'd prefer the term "morally objectionable" to "wrong."

On the identical twins issue: monozygote twins start off with the same genetic code and cannot have additions to that, the Bruder study does not state anything different. It's just that in identical twins you can actually detect the copy number variants.

Anonymous said...

thank you so much four contribution wizworm. however, i remind everyone here that they need to use their names so i'm familiar with who's commenting and it's always better that way. i would appreciate it if you left your name next time.

as for your points,
female masturbation: i'll admit that it is a moral objection. i simply stated my recommendation which as readers, you have the choice to accept or not. thus, my reccomendation was not so much out of a medical concern but more towards a concern for mental and spiritual health. i understand that there is an overwhelming support for masturbation in the medical world. but my concern is the things that fill the mind when masturbation is encouraged.

the identical twins issue: am in total agreement with you. i have copy number variants in mind when i say that there are differences.

looking forward to more of your contribution but with your name next time. thanks!

Unknown said...

Why don't you recommend masturbating?

Anonymous said...

hi rosemaryrain. i don't recommend it simply because i don't think that sex was designed to be a solitary experience. plus, i believe that it encourages a lustful thought life and it develops a sense of selfishness in the way the person would eventually respond to his/her partner.

what do you think?

mooreamanda said...

I think that when you discourage masturbation, in your "medical" blog, it can turn people away. Yes, everyone is entitled to their views, everyone is entitled to free speach. I'm sure some people were offended when they read your comment on masturbation *I wasn't, I don't take things personally* I think that if you'd like to start a blog based on your morals and such, you go for it, but I think until then you should keep the facts seperated from the opinions. I am 15 years old, as I'm sure you know, hormones run wild and deep at my age, wich is why instead of having sex, I masturbate.
I'd rather pleasure myself, then risk std's or pregnancy.
and from what I've heard, sex between two people feels enourmously different then pleasuring yourself, there's just no comparison then sharing that sort of love and pleausre of your own body, mind, soul, and spirit with someone elese..until then..I think I'll just stick to sharing my body, and my pleausre, with myself.

Anonymous said...

hi miss moore, thank you for your two cents worth. i assure you that my stand on this issue is a calculated stand based on weighing the facts that i consider is pertinent. many would consider my facts baseless and may find it, as you put it, offending. but i dont apologise for them and neither am i here trying to convince anyone about anything. i'm only offering an alternative to commonly held beliefs and if you will notice, i do offer reasons for my point of view.

speaking of those reasons, you might have offered support for one of them without knowing it. your mention about sex between two people feeling enourmously different compared to pleasuring yourself is exactly my point when i said that sex is not designed to be a solitary experience. so my question would be, if you knew that there's a greater pleasure to be enjoyed later, why be content with lesser now? why not wait until you're able to enjoy what's better by far?

oh yes, you mentioned why. the raging hormones right? you sound like a reasonable young woman miss moore but i cant help but wonder who convinced you that masturbation was the only way to deal with that raging hormones. i can appreciate that 15 can be a difficult age, but i assure you that bad advice can make it worse.

Rachelle said...

In relation to jaya's reply to mooreamanda's comment, I just want to ask: what would you suggest, then, to cool down raging hormones? And don't say breathe deeply, socialize, exercise, etc because I think those are poor suggestions. Btw I am also 15 and my name is Rachelle...also I don't understand the 'no anonymous posts' rule :P

Jaya said...

hi rachelle,
i wonder if you still watch this space. if you do, could you tell me why you think those suggestions are bad suggestions?

as for the no 'anonymous' comments, it's because my initial intention for this blog was for my students and i'd like to know who i'm talking to when they are commenting here. :)