Sensory innervation of the external and internal genitalia of the female rat

Abstract

Using a whole-nerve recording method, the genitalia of the female rat were found to receive afferent innervation as follows. Pelvic nerve: vagina, cervix, and perineal skin; hypogastric nerve: cervix and proximal three fifths of the uterus; pudendal nerve: skin of perineum, inner thigh, and clitoral sheath. It is probable that the pudendal and pelvic nerves are activated during copulation, and that all 3 nerves are activated during parturition.