Vulva is an anatomical term for female external reproductive organs. The word "vulva" was first seen in "Notes on Women's Prescriptions". The vulva is also called quadrilateral. According to the "Notes on Women's Prescriptions", the vulva is equivalent to the tissues around the vaginal opening, such as clitoris, vaginal vestibule, labial frenulum and labia majora and labia majora.
Later generations of physicians also widely used the name vulva. For example, "Introduction to Medicine" and other books have "vulva swelling and pain is not closed", which is to describe the symptoms of acute inflammation of vestibular gland.
The term "four sides are female external reproductive organs" is recorded in some Chinese medicine documents, such as "On the Causes of Diseases", which says: "Yumen and four sides are scattered, and the children are not safe". It shows that the four sides refer to the front, back, left and right sides outside the vaginal opening, that is, from the front to the clitoris, and then to the labia majora and labia majora, and the left and right sides should refer to the labia majora and labia majora, so the four sides are consistent with the anatomical scope of the vulva, and it can be considered that the four sides are aliases of the vulva.
Yumen is a noun of female external reproductive organs. Also known as Longmen and Cell Gate. According to "Pulse Sutra" and other books, "The pregnant woman belongs to the cell door, the unborn woman belongs to the Longmen, and the unmarried woman belongs to the Yumen". Regarding the location of the Longmen, it is recorded in "Prepare for a Urgent Need" that the Longmen is "under the Yuquan (that is, the urethral orifice), when women enter the vagina". It is suggested that the parts of Yumen, Longmen and Cell Gate are equivalent to the hymen tissue of the vaginal opening of the external genitalia, but the shape is changed. Yumen is an unmarried woman with an intact hymen; Longmen is a married woman with a broken hymen; The cell door is a woman who has given birth. Because the fetal head and carcass pass through it during childbirth, the hymen is torn and oppressed, and only traces of the hymen edge can be seen during inspection. However, some people call married women who have given birth Yumen. For example, it is recorded in A Complete Collection of Good Recipes for Women that "the postpartum yin falls off and Yumen is not closed", so Yumen is not a special term for unmarried women in some books. But a married person who has given birth can also be called Yumen.
As for the function of vulva and Yumen, it is recorded in "A Complete Prescription for Women" that "Yumen and its four sides preside over Guanyuan and confine sperm". It shows that vulva and Yumen are places for sexual intercourse, as well as channels and passes for the discharge of fetus, menstruation, leukorrhagia and lochia.
Vagina is a noun of female internal reproductive organs. The word vagina first appeared in "Please discuss the source of the disease". The book records that "the vagina is popular with internal organs and body fluids" and "postpartum vaginal swelling and pain", and the anatomical position of the vagina in Chinese medicine is consistent with that in western medicine. The main function of vagina is to give birth to fetus, discharge menstruation, leucorrhea and lochia, and it is also a place for sexual intercourse. Because the anatomical terms in TCM literature have not been standardized and unified, some books refer to "vulva" and "sub-intestine" as vaginas, which need to be understood according to the specific contents described in the book, such as "postpartum vaginal prolapse, Yumen not closing" and "sub-intestine coming out", etc. The former sentence refers to vaginal prolapse, and the latter sentence refers to posterior vaginal hernia or uterine prolapse.
Sub-door, also known as sub-household, is one of the female internal reproductive organs. The head of the sub-door is found in Lingshu Water Swelling: "The stone is born in the cell, the cold is in the sub-door, and the sub-door is blocked", which shows that the sub-door is equivalent to the cervical orifice of western medicine. The main function of the sub-gate is to preside over the gateway of menstruation and delivery of the fetus.
Uterus, also known as female uterus, uterus and viscera, is one of the important organs of female internal genitalia. The word "daughter cell" was first used in Neijing, called "daughter cell" in Su Wen Wu Zang Lun and "Zi Chu" in Ling Shu Wu Se. In Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, it is called "uterus" and "viscera". In the indications of Zi Shi Ying, it is recorded that "women are cold in uterus". The word uterus has been accepted by doctors in past dynasties and recorded in many works in past dynasties. The word "uterus" first appeared in "Women's Questions": "The uterus is hot, and the cold and heat are like malaria". In the future, there are many records in various monographs on obstetrics and gynecology.
The position of the uterus is stated in Analogous Meridian Appendices: The uterus "lives in front of the rectum and behind the bladder". The description of this anatomical position is the same as that of western medicine uterine anatomy.
As for the shape of the uterus, it is recorded in Gezhiyu Lun and Jingyue Quanshu: "Yin and Yang have copulation, the pregnancy is coagulation, and the hidden place is called uterus. One department is at the bottom, and there are two divergences at the top, and the middle is divided into two, which is like a combination. One reaches the left and the other reaches the right." Therefore, the uterus in traditional Chinese medicine includes uterine solid and bilateral accessories (fallopian tubes and ovaries). It shows that the anatomical scope of uterus in traditional Chinese medicine is not exactly the same as that in western medicine. In addition, from the relationship between zang-fu organs and meridians, Su Wen Comment on Fever says: "The pulse of the cell belongs to the heart and collaterals in the cell". "Su Wen Qi Bing Lun" states: "Collaterals are tied to the kidney". Therefore, the uterus has meridians directly connected with the viscera, and the uterus in traditional Chinese medicine is similar to the uterus in western medicine in anatomical position, but the cell officer in traditional Chinese medicine also includes bilateral accessories, and participates in the exchange and regulation of qi and blood in viscera and meridians.
In Su Wen's On Ancient Naivety, it is recorded that the function of the palace is "the moon is in the present, so there are children". "Analogy Classics" also said: "A woman's womb is the same, and it is also surprising that a cashier is pregnant with essence." It can be seen that the uterus has the function of expelling menstruation and gestating fetus. In addition, Neijing called the daughter cell a strange and constant mansion, and its function is different from that of the general viscera, which is generally dirty and hides without diarrhea; Fu organs are diarrhea but not hiding. On the other hand, the official of the uterus is also purging and hiding. Sometimes, the purging exercises the functions of menstruation, storing menstruation, childbearing, childbirth, and hiding diarrhea, which fully shows the special functions of the uterus. There is a certain connection between Chinese medicine and western medicine in anatomical names. Now the list is for reference.