Greater vestibular gland (Bartholin gland)
Glandula vestibularis major
Also known as: Bartholin gland, Bartholin glands
Paired pea-sized mucous glands posterolateral to the vaginal orifice whose ducts open into the vestibule at about 4 and 8 o'clock, providing lubrication during sexual arousal; homologue of the bulbourethral glands.
Overview
Each gland (≈0.5–1 cm) lies in the superficial perineal pouch, deep to the posterior end of the bulb of the vestibule and bulbospongiosus. Its duct (≈2 cm) opens into the vestibule in the groove between the hymen and the labium minus, at roughly the 4 and 8 o'clock positions. During sexual arousal the glands secrete a clear mucus that moistens the vestibule. The glands are normally impalpable.
- Location
Posterolateral to the vaginal orifice in the superficial perineal pouch.
Anatomy
- Innervation
Pudendal nerve (perineal branches) and autonomic fibres.
- Arterial supply
Branches of the internal pudendal artery (artery of the vestibular bulb).
- Lymphatic drainage
Superficial inguinal nodes.
- Development
Endodermal outgrowths of the urogenital sinus; male homologue — bulbourethral (Cowper) glands.
Function
- Secrete mucus that lubricates the vestibule during arousal.
Clinical significance
Bartholin cyst and abscess
Blockage of the duct produces a painless cyst in the posterior labium; infection (mixed flora, sometimes gonococcal) causes a hot, very painful abscess, treated by drainage with a Word catheter or marsupialisation. A new Bartholin mass in a woman over ≈40 warrants biopsy to exclude carcinoma.
Compiled from standard anatomy and physiology references — see the Reproductive System sources. For education only; not medical advice.