Mons pubis
Mons pubis | |
---|---|
Mons pubis without hair | |
Details | |
Precursor | Genital tubercle |
Identifiers | |
Latin | mons pubis |
TA | A09.2.01.002 |
FMA | 20218 |
In human anatomy, and in mammals in general, the mons pubis (also known simply as the mons, and known specifically in females as the mons Venus or mons veneris),[1][2] is a rounded mass of fatty tissue found over the pubic symphysis of the pubic bones.[1][2][3][4][5][6] In human females, the mons pubis forms the anterior portion of the vulva. It divides into the labia majora (literally "larger lips"), on either side of the furrow known as the pudendal cleft, that surrounds the labia minora, clitoris, urethra, vaginal opening, and other structures of the vulval vestibule.[2][5][6]
The size of the mons pubis varies with the level of hormone and body fat, and it is more apparent in females.[1][3] After puberty, it generally becomes covered with pubic hair and enlarged.[4][6][7][8] The fatty tissue of the mons pubis is sensitive to estrogen, causing a distinct mound to form with the onset of puberty.[8] This pushes the forward portion of the labia majora out and away from the pubic bone. Likewise, the mons pubis often becomes less prominent with the decrease in bodily estrogen experienced during menopause.[9]
The term mons pubis is derived from Latin for "pubic mound", and mons Venus or mons veneris is derived from Latin for "mound of Venus".[1][2]
References
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 New Oxford American Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2011.
The rounded mass of fatty tissue lying over the joint of the pubic bones, in women typically more prominent and also called the mons veneris.
- 1 2 3 4 Gould, A.M., M.D, George Milbry (1894). An Illustrated Dictionary of Medicine, Biology and Allied Sciences. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Company. pp. 778–779. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
Mons pubis: the eminence in front of the body and horizontal ramus of the os pubis; it is called also, in the female, mons veneris.
- 1 2 "mons pubis". Merriam–Webster. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
A rounded eminence of fatty tissue on the pubic symphysis especially of the human female.
- 1 2 "mons pubis". American Heritage Dictionary. 2011. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
A rounded fleshy protuberance situated over the pubic bones that becomes covered with hair during puberty.
- 1 2 Zink, Christoph (1988). Dictionary of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co. p. 201. ISBN 3110857278. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
Pubic mount: mons pubis, in females mons veneris; the hairy region above the anterior commissure of the large labia or penis.
- 1 2 3 Basavanthappa, B.T. (2006). Textbook of Midwifery and Reproductive Health Nursing (1st ed.). New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers. pp. 23, 42, 791. ISBN 8180617998. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
[Female] mons pubis (mons veneris), labia majora and minora, clitoris, prepuce of clitoris, vestibule, fourchette, and perineum… [Male] mons pubis, penis, and scrotum… Hair-covered fat pad overlying the symphysis pubis.
- ↑ Gray, Henry (1918). Lewis, Warren H., ed. Anatomy of the Human Body. (20th ed.). Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger. ISBN 1-58734-102-6.
- 1 2 Myers, J.D., John E.B. (2011). The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. ISBN 1412966817. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
- ↑ Braun, Kirsten (2007-09-01). "Ageing down under". Women's Health, Queensland Wide. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
Bibliography
- Sloane, Ethel. Biology of Women. Cengage Learning 2002, ISBN 978-0-7668-1142-3, p. 31
- Gray, Henry: Anatomy of the Human Body. Lea & Febiger, 1918
- "Mons pubis" in Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2010.
External links
- Media related to Mons pubis at Wikimedia Commons
- Anatomy photo:41:02-0102 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center – "The Female Perineum: The Vulva"