The hymen morphology in normal newborn Saudi girls

Hymen morphology has a medico-legal importance. In view of the lack of national norms, establishing the hymen morphology of Saudi newborn infants is essential.

Over a period of 4 months, the genitalia of 345 full-term female newborn infants were examined to determine the shape of the hymen. A previously described labia traction technique was used to classify the hymen morphology into annular, sleeve-like, fimbriated, crescentric, and other types.

The hymen was present in all 345 female newborn infants examined. A total of 207 (60%) were of the annular type, 76 (22%) were sleeve-like, 43 (12.5%) fimbriated, 17 (4.9%) crescentric, and 2 (0.6%) of other types.

The most common hymen morphology in Saudi newborn girls was annular, followed by sleeve-like, fimbriated, and crescentric. This study may be the first to define normal configuration of the hymen in this community.