Vestibule, vaginal
The vaginal opening is called the vestibule of the vagina.
In medicine, a vestibule is a space or cavity at the entrance to a canal, channel, tube, vessel.
In ancient Rome, the 'vestibulum' was an entrance or enclosed porch leading into the house.</P> NTER><IMG height=375 alt='Female Illustration - Vaginal Vestibule' src='http://images.medicinenet.com/images/ABUTERUS.GIF' width=400> </CENTER> The vagina is a muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body.
The word 'vagina' is a Latin word meaning 'a sheath or scabbard', a scabbard into which one might slide and sheath a sword.
The 'sword' in the case of the anatomic vagina was the penis.
Love and war, it would seem, have been connected in the minds of people for millennia.