The vaginal venous plexus is a group of veins draining
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
from the
vagina
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...
. It lies around the sides of the vagina. Its blood is eventually into the
internal iliac veins.
Structure
The vaginal venous plexus lies around the sides of the
vagina
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...
.
Its branches communicate with the
uterine venous plexus
The uterine plexuses lie along the sides and superior angles of the uterus
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the ...
es,
vesical venous plexus
The vesical plexus envelops the lower part of the bladder and the base of the prostate and communicates with the pudendal and prostatic plexuses.
It is drained, by means of several vesical veins
The vesical veins are veins in the pelvis that d ...
, and
rectal venous plexus
The rectal venous plexus (or hemorrhoidal plexus) surrounds the rectum, and communicates in front with the vesical venous plexus in the male, and the vaginal venous plexus in the female.
A free communication between the portal and systemic venous ...
es. It is drained by the ''vaginal veins'', one on either side. These eventually drain into the
internal iliac veins (hypogastric veins).
Function
The vaginal venous plexus drains
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
from the
vagina
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...
.
It helps to make the vagina highly vascular.
References
{{circulatory-stub
Veins of the torso