When a healthy woman expresses concerns about her vulva, the doctor's response should be informed by clinical knowledge. For many doctors, accumulation of such knowledge would have begun with undergraduate teaching and medical textbooks. The aim of this study is to examine the information on female genital morphology in medical textbooks. A total of 59 gynaecology and anatomy textbooks were searched for information on the dimensions of vulval constitutent parts. No textbook gave measurements for all vulval structures. Vaginal length was reported in 21/59 textbooks, clitoral size in 15/59 and labia minora in 1/59. Where measurements appear, they suggest narrower ranges than recent reports. Information of vulval morphology is scanty and inaccurate in medical textbooks. The general lack of professional resources means that doctors may consciously or non-consciously rely upon personal experiences and popular culture to form their opinions, as do their patients. © 2013 Informa UK, Ltd.

Introduction and hypothesis: Congenital vaginal aplasia is a condition with devastating implications for fertility and sexuality. However, little is known on whether urinary symptomatology is more common prior and following vaginal lengthening procedures in these women. Methods: We performed a prospective observational study of 19 women with vaginal agenesis before and after vaginal dilation treatment or a laparoscopic Vecchietti procedure. All women completed the ICIQ FLUTS questionnaire before and after treatment in order to assess incidence and changes in urinary symptomatology. Results: Urinary symptoms were present in 53{%} of women prior to treatment. The majority of bladder symptoms were not significantly altered by treatment, except for incomplete bladder emptying. Women following the Vecchietti procedure had increased urinary hesitancy and a poorer steam compared with those completing dilation treatment. The longer the vaginal length, the greater the urinary frequency. Conclusion: Women with vaginal agenesis had significant levels of urinary symptoms and to our knowledge this has not been reported before. The majority of symptoms were not altered by treatment. © 2012 The International Urogynecological Association.

Background: A cross sectional study to investigate HPV prevalence according to age and cytology.Methods: Women presenting to a gynaecological outpatient clinic for a Pap smear test were included in the study (n=3177). All women had cervical cytology and HPV testing.Results: Overall prevalence of any 24 HPV type analysed was 33.1{%} (95{%} CI 31.5{%} to 34.7{%}) and HPV 16 and HPV 42 were the most frequent (6.7{%} (95{%} CI 5.8{%} to 7.6{%}), 6.8{%} (95{%} CI 5.9{%} to 7.6{%})), in total samples. Multiple HPV infection rate was 12.9{%} (95{%} CI 11.8{%} to 14.1{%}). High risk HPV (hrHPV) types were present in 27.4{%} (95{%} CI 25.8{%} to 28.9{%}) of the samples.HPV prevalence was highest among 14 to 19 y.o (46.6{%} (95{%} CI 40.7{%}-52.4{%})) and second highest among 30-34 y.o. (39.7{%}, 95{%} CI 35.4{%}-44{%}). HPV 16 was highest among 20-24 (9.0{%} (95{%} CI 6.4{%}-11.6{%})) and second highest among 50 to 54 y.o. (6.3{%} (95{%} CI 2.9{%} to 9.8{%}).In Low-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (LgSIL) cytology samples, the most frequently detected hrHPV types were: 16 (14.5{%} (95{%} CI 12.1{%} to 16.9{%})), 51 (13.0{%} (95{%} CI 10.7{%} to 15.3{%})) and 53 (9.1{%} (95{%} CI 7.2{%} to 11.1{%})) and in High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (HgSIL) were: HPV 16 (37.2{%} (95{%} CI 26.5{%} to 47.9{%})), HPV 51 (17.9{%} (95{%} CI 9.4{%} to 26.5{%})) and HPV 18 (12.8{%} (95{%} CI 5.4{%} to 20.2{%})).Conclusions: In the population studied, HPV 16 and 51 were the most frequent detected hrHPV types. HPV positivity, hrHPV and multiple HPV types infections were higher in young women, while HPV prevalence declined with increasing age and presented two peaks a higher (14-19 y.o.) and a lower one (30-34 y.o.) These results may contribute to the creation of a national screening programme. © 2013 Argyri et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.