Vaginas

What is the vagina? This seemingly simple question has a rather complex answer, depending on whether we use a functional or a developmental definition. The terminal portion of the female reproductive tract that opens to the environment initially served as a conduit for eggs to be laid, and in species with external fertilization the distal oviduct may be specialized for oviposition but there is no vagina. In animals with internal fertilization, this terminal section of the oviduct interacts with the sperm and the intromittent organ leading to functional specialization of this region that we often call a vagina in insects and some vertebrates. Here we address the evolution, morphology and diverse functions of the vagina and some of the unknown questions that remain to be addressed in the study of this remarkable structure.