The Female Prostate
During early fetal development both male and female fetuses start out being physically female. This does not change until a male fetus begins to produce its own hormones around the eighth week of gestation. Only then does the physical development of the male and female bodies diverge, and then less than many may presume. This necessitates that female fetuses initially have structures that could develop into either "male" or "female" reproductive and sexual organs. This means the tissue that develops into the male prostate gland, the urogenital sinus, must also be present in women. This results in woman having a prostate gland too.









The top image is a close-up of the individual glands that make up the female prostate. The female prostate, urethra, and vagina are actually part of a solid structure, as indicated in the illustration shown below. The female prostate is shown this way to help you identify its location. The bottom image allows you to more clearly see the location of the female prostate within the body.

The first person known to have described the "female prostate" in Western medical literature was Reinier De Graaf (1641-1673) in the year 1672. He described it as a collection of functional glands and ducts surrounding the female urethra. He said the glands and ducts produced a "pituitoserous juice;" meaning it produces a thick mucous that is pale yellow or transparent in color. He said the function of this fluid was to make "women more libidinous with its pungency and saltiness and lubricates their sexual parts in agreeable fashion during coitus." Despite his observation modern Western medicine did not fully accept the concept of a "female prostate" until 2001 when the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology agreed to use this term in their next edition of Histology Terminology.

Where did the female prostate disappear to for 329 years? Prior to the 20th century the term "female prostate" was commonly used within medical research literature but during the 20th century the female prostate was usually described as vestigial, i.e. not fully developed and non-functional, and was identified as either paraurethral or Skene's glands. While the components of the female prostate were known to exist they were not seen as structures of interest or importance; with a few exceptions. Since modern medicine did not see the female prostate playing an active and necessary role in reproduction it wasn't essential to understand its function. The female prostate is not believed to be affected by disease on a frequent basis and this likely contributed to the lack of interest within doctor offices and hospitals. When the female prostate became a medical concern by becoming enlarged or causing discomfort during urination or intercourse it was called female urethral diverticulum or female prostatitis. I wonder how many urinary tract infections (UTIs) have been incorrectly diagnosed and treated?

The male prostate is an distinct organ that surrounds the male urethra but the female prostate lies within the wall and along the length of the female urethra, as indicated in the illustrations shown above and below. It is part of and contained within the wall of the urethra, and the urethra is contained within the wall of the vagina. The average size of the female prostate is 1.3 inches long, 0.75 inches wide, 0.4 inches in height (3.3 x 1.9 x 1 cm), and weighs about 0.2 ounces (5.2 grams). Which means it is a relatively small organ about the size of a woman's thumb. Despite its smaller size "it possesses all the structural components of the male prostate."

The image shown below demonstrates how the female urethra and vagina are contained within a common structure, as indicated by the circular outline that surrounds them. Anatomy illustrations usually lead us to believe they are two separate and distinct organs, which isn't true. They are drawn this way for the sake of visual clarity, but this can be misleading. This image helps us to understand why the female prostate is stimulated when the vaginal wall is stimulated, and why some women are susceptible to urinary tract infections (UTIs) after engaging in vagina intercourse. It also demonstrates how the vagina is a potential space rather than being an open cavity within the body.




The female prostate comes in many different shapes and sizes but the majority of women have a prostate that is positioned near the external urethral orifice, as shown above and below. When having this shape and placement it may cause the top wall of the vagina to project into the vaginal passage and the urethral meatus to project outward into the vestibule. When this occurs, you may not be able to see the actual glands of the prostate but you can see their affect on the surround tissues. In some women these projections are quite distinguished and noticeable, and increase during sexual arousal.