What is Hymen?
[[File:Gray1229.png|thumb|right|A schematic drawing of a hymen]] The '''hymen''' (also called '''maidenhead''') is [[tissue]] that surrounds or partially covers the external [[vagina]]l opening. The hymen has no known use. People used to believe that the hymen always tears after having [[sexual intercourse]] for the first time, and that you could tell if a woman was a [[virgin]] by looking at her hymen and seeing if it was torn. However, it turns out that it is impossible to tell if someone is a virgin by looking at their hymen.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/Medical/texts/Evaluation%20of%20the%20Sexually%20Abused%20Child%202nd%20ed%20-%20A.%20Heger%2C%20et%20al.%2C%20%28Oxford%2C%202000%29%20WW.pdf|title=Evaluation of the Sexually Abused Child: A Medical Textbook and Photographic Atlas|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195074253|editor-last=Heger|editor-first=Astrid H.|edition=2nd|location=New York|pages=122|language=English|editor-last2=Emans|editor-first2=S. Jean|access-date=2018-08-06|archive-date=2018-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708104703/https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/Medical/texts/Evaluation%20of%20the%20Sexually%20Abused%20Child%202nd%20ed%20-%20A.%20Heger,%20et%20al.,%20(Oxford,%202000)%20WW.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Studies have confirmed that all girls are born with hymens.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64389654|title=Evaluation of the sexually abused child : a medical textbook and photographic atlas|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Heger, Astrid., Emans, S. Jean Herriot., Muram, David.|year=2000|isbn=0-19-513126-6|edition=Second|location=New York|pages=62|oclc=64389654|quote=An early study by Jenny (1987) confirmed that not all girls are born with hymens.}}</ref> == Types == There are several different types of hymen. In about 1 in 2,000 females, the hymen does not develop at all.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Kurman, Robert J. |title=Blaustein's Pathology of the Female Genital Tract |edition=5th |year=2002 |publi