LEGAL MEDICINE

TOPIC:
VIRGINITY
VIRGINITY
Is a condition of a female who has not experience sexual intercourse and
whose genital organs have not been altered by a carnal connection.
A woman is a “virtous female” if her body is pure and she has never had
any sexual intercourse with another, though her mind and heart is impure.
 TYPES OF VIRGINITY

1.Moral Virginity
 The state of not knowing the nature of sexual life and not having experienced
sexual relation. Moral virginity applies to children below the age of puberty and
whose sex organs and secondary sex characters are not yet developed.
2.Physical Virginity
 a condition whereby a woman is conscious of the nature of the sexual life but
has not experienced sexual intercourse. The term applies to women who have
reached sexual maturity but have not experienced sexual intercourse.
a. True physical virginity
 a condition wherein the hymen is intact.
b. False physical virginity
 a condition wherein the hymen is unruptured but the orifice is wide and elastic.
3. Demi-virginity
 This term refers to a condition of a woman who permits any form of sexual
liberties as long as they abstain from rupturing the hymen by sexual act.
4. “Virgo Intacta”
 Literally the term refers to a truly virgin woman; that there are no structural
changes in her organ to infer previous sexual intercourse and that she is a
virtuous woman.
 Parts of the female body to be considered in the determination of the
condition of virginity:

1. Breast
 the breast are firm and the nipples are small and surrounded by areola which
are pinkish brown or brown in color. Young adults have different shapes of
breast. A fully developed virgin breast may be:
 Hemispherical breast – the breast is like hemisphere. The contour lines are not
straight but form part of a circle or half of a sphere.
 Conical breast - the breast has the shape similar to the cone. The outline
consist of two converging lines which meet at the region of the nipple.
 Infantile or flat breast – the breast is only elevated from the chest without
distinct boundary and showing non definite shape.
 Pendulous breast – the skin of the breast is loose making it capable of
swinging in any direction. This is commonly observed among parturient
breast-feeding mothers. A pendulous breast may be:
a. Hemispherical pendulous breast – it has the shape of a hemisphere but
with loose skin.
b. Conical pendulous breast – it has the shape of a cone and is capable of
swinging sidewise.
2. Vaginal Canal
 as a general rule, the vaginal canal of a virgin is tight and the rugosities are sharp
and prominent. Insertion of a finger or instrument may show certain degree of
resistance. The wall of the vagina is composed of smooth muscle and fibroelastic
connective tissue so that its tightness and degree of resistance on insertion of a
finger or instrument depends on the integrity of its wall, as well as on the potency
of its lubricating secretion.
3. Labia Majora and Labia Minora
 The labia majora is firm, elastic and plump and its medial borders are usually in
close intact with each other so as to cover the labia minora and the clitoris. The
labia minora is soft, pinkish in close contact with one another, and its vestibule is
narrow. Entry of the male organ may cause the labia to gape due to stretching of
their borders.
4. Fourchette
 present a V-shape appearance as the two labia minora unite posteriorly.
5. Hymen
 a thin piece of mucosal tissue that surrounds or partially covers the
external vaginal opening.
Classification of hymen:
 as to the shape and size of the opening:
a. Annular or circular – the opening is oval or circular located at the center
of the hymen. There may be indentation of the borders.
b. Infantile – the opening is small , usually linear, fleshy and resistant.
c. Semilunar or crescentric – the concavity may be facing either side or
upwards or downwards.
d. Linear – the opening is slit-like and usually running vertically.
e. Cribiform – the hymen presents several openings instead of a single one.
f. Stellate – hymental opening is like a star.
g. Septate – there are two openings separated by a bridge of hymental tissue.
h. Fimbriated – the border of the opening shows small irregular protrusion
towards the opening.
i. Impeforate – no opening in the hymen.
 As to structure and consistency:
i. Firm and with strong connective tissue and plenty of blood vessels – this type has more
tendency to lacerate during the first sexual act and the laceration may produce relatively
more hemorrhage.
ii. Thick yielding hymen with scarce blood vessels – the hymen is distensible, easily
penetrated and when lacerated will cause less bleeding.
iii. Membranous hymen – hymen is parchment-like, may be transparent and may lacerate
without pain or appreciable bleeding.
 As to number of opening:
i. Single orifice – having one openings.
ii. Septate – two openings.
iii. Multiple – several openings.
iv. Imperforate – without orifice.
DEFLORATION
 Is the laceration or rupture of the hymen as a result of sexual intercourse.
PARTS OF THE FEMALE GENITALIA THAT MUST BE EXAMINED TO
DETERMINED DEFLORATION.
1. Condition of the vulva – normally the labia majora and minora are in
contact with one another covering almost completely the external
genitalia. After defloration, the labia may gape exposing the introitus
vulvae.
2. Fourchette – the normal V-shape of the fourchette is lost on account of
the previous stretching during insertion of the male organ.
3. Vaginal Canal – after repeated sexual acts, there is diminution of the
sharpness or obliteration of the vaginal rugosities.
Predisposing causes of vulvo-vaginal injuries during sexual act:
a) virginity – sex organ does not have previous experience to stretching or coital act.
b) Prepuberty – the genital organ is not yet fully developed to subject it to full physiological function.
c) Genital disproportion – the male organ is unusual big or female organ infantile in size in spite of adult age.
d) Unprepared or unaroused female – the vaginal secretion is absent, causing more friction.
e) Position during the sexual act
f) Brutality of the male partner during the sexual act.
g) Recent vaginal surgery – the canal may become narrow and fibrous scar may replace the muscular vaginal
wall at the site of surgery.
h) Excessive active involvement of the female partner.
i) Multiple sexual act among sex deviates – continuous stretching and friction may weaken its wall.
j) Renewed sexual activity after prolonged abstinence.
k) Post-menopause
l) Uterine retroversion
4. Hymen
the hymen is lacerated during the initial act. However , it is not always the case. Some hymen are thick,
elastic and fleshy such that they can resist certain degree of distention without causing laceration.
Other causes of hymental laceration:
a. Passage of clotted blood during menstruation
b. Ulceration due to disease, like diphtheria
c. Jumping or running
d. Falling on hard or sharp object
e. Medical instrumentation
f. Local medication
g. Self-scratching due to irritation
h. Masturbation
i. Insertion of foreign bodies
j. Previous operation
IN THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF THE HYMEN, THE FOLLOWING ACTS
MUST BE INCLUDED:

A. General condition of the hymen

 this includes the width, thickness, elasticity, vascularity, and laxity. It may include
pathological condition, like inflammatory changes, signs of previous trauma,
developmental abnormality and foreign elements.
B. Original shape of the orifice (opening)
C. If lacerated, the following must be:
(1) Degree of laceration – refers to the extent of damage to the hymen which may be:
a. Incomplete laceration – rupture or laceration of the hymen is considered incomplete
when it does not involved the whole width or height of the hymen.
Incomplete laceration maybe:
i. Superficial – the laceration does not go beyond one-half of the whole width of the
hymen.
ii. Deep – the laceration involves more than one-half of the width of the hymen but not
reaching base.
2. Complete laceration
 involves the whole width but not beyond the base of the hymen.
3. Compound or complicated laceration
 involves the hymen and also the surrounding tissues.
D. Location of laceration
for the purpose of locating the site of the laceration, the hymental orifice is related to
the face of a watch while the subject is in lithotomy position.
E. Duration of the laceration
 the determination as to how long the laceration took place can be approximated by
the changes observed in the lacerated tissue.
a. Fresh bleeding laceration
b. Fresh healing
c. Healed laceration with congested edges and with sharp coaptible boarders
d. Healed laceration with sharp coaptible boarders without congestion
e. Healed laceration with rounded non-coaptible boarders and retraction of the edges
F. Complication of laceration
a vast majority of laceration of the hymen healed un eventually, although in rare
instances complications set in.
The following are the possible complications:
a) Secondary infection
b) Hemorrhage
c) Fistulae formation
d) Stricture
e) Sterility