Abstract
Extract
In work on vaginal prolapse previously reported, techniques were developed for measuring the dilatability of the vagina and the resistance to distension of the tissues of the vulva and vestibule (McLean, Citation1956a). These techniques were then used to study the normal changes taking place in these organs during the various phases of the reproductive cycle. It was shown that, as pregnancy advances, the vaginal lumen undergoes a striking increase in volume, attributable to growth and increased dilatability of its walls, and the tissues of the vulva and vestibule offer progressively less resistance to distension, two changes which would seem to predispose to vaginal prolapse towards the end of pregnancy (McLean, Citation1956b).