Female

The female urethra is a narrow membranous canal, about 4 cm. long, extending from the
internal to the external urethral orifice.

It is placed behind the symphysis pubis, imbedded in the anterior wall of the vagina, and its
direction is obliquely downward and forward; it is slightly curved with the concavity directed
forward. It begins after the internal urethrla orifice with an intramural part in the muscular wall of
the urinary bladder.

Its diameter when undilated is about 6 mm.

It perforates the fasciæ of the urogenital diaphragm, and its external orifice is situated directly in
front of the vaginal opening and about 2.5 cm. behind the glans clitoridis.

The lining membrane is thrown into longitudinal folds, one of which, placed along the floor of the
canal, is termed the urethral crest.

Many small urethral glands open into the urethra.

Structure.—The urethra consists of three coats: muscular, erectile, and mucous.

 The muscular coat is continuous with that of the bladder; it extends the whole length of
the tube, and consists of circular fibers. In addition to this, between the superior and
inferior fasciæ of the urogenital diaphragm, the female urethra is surrounded by the
Sphincter urethræ membranaceæ, as in the male.
 A thin layer of spongy erectile tissue, containing a plexus of large veins, intermixed
with bundles of unstriped muscular fibers, lies immediately beneath the mucous coat.
 The mucous coat is pale; it is continuous externally with that of the vulva, and internally
with that of the bladder. It is lined by stratified squamous epithelium, which becomes
transitional near the bladder. Its external orifice is surrounded by a few mucous follicles.
Male
The spongy urethra (cavernous portion of urethra, penile urethra) is the longest part of
the male urethra, and is contained in the corpus spongiosum of the penis.

It is about 15 cm long, and extends from the termination of the membranous portion to

the external urethral orifice.

Commencing below the inferior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm it passes forward and upward
to the front of the pubic symphysis; and then, in the flaccid condition of the penis, it bends
downward and forward.

It is narrow, and of uniform size in the body of the penis, measuring about 6 mm in diameter; it is
dilated behind, within the bulb, and again anteriorly within the glans penis, where it forms
the fossa navicularis urethrae.

The spongy urethra runs along the length of the penis on its ventral (underneath) surface. It is
about 15–16 cm in length, and travels through the corpus spongiosum. The ducts from
the urethral gland (gland of Littre) enter here. The openings of the bulbourethral glands are also
found here. Some textbooks will subdivide the spongy urethra into two parts, the bulbous and
pendulous urethra. The urethral lumen runs effectively parallel to the penis, except at the
narrowest point, the external urethral meatus, where it is vertical. This produces a spiral stream
of urine and has the effect of cleaning the external urethral meatus. The lack of an equivalent
mechanism in the female urethra partly explains why urinary tract infections occur so much more
frequently in females.

The male external urethral orifice is the external opening or urinary meatus, normally located at
the tip of the glans penis, at its junction with the frenular delta.

It presents as a vertical slit, possibly bounded on either side by two small labia-like projections
and continues longitudinally along the front aspect of the glans, which facilitates the flow of
urine micturition.