Carotenes are found in plants in two primary forms designated by characters from the Greek alphabet: alpha-carotene (α-carotene) and beta-carotene (β-carotene). Gamma-, delta-, epsilon-, and zeta-carotene (γ, δ, ε, and ζ-carotene) also exist. Since they are hydrocarbons, and therefore contain no oxygen, carotenes are fat-soluble and insoluble in water (in contrast with other carotenoids, the xanthophylls, which contain oxygen and thus are less chemically hydrophobic). History
The discovery of carotene from carrot juice is credited to Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Wackenroder, a finding made during a search for antihelminthics, which he published in 1831. He obtained it in small ruby-red flakes soluble in ether, which when dissolved in fats gave a beautiful yellow colour. William Christopher Zeise recognised its hydrocarbon nature in 1847, but his analyses gave him a composition of C5H8. It was Léon-Albert Arnaud in 1886 who confirmed its hydrocarbon nature and gave the formula C26H38, which is close to the theoretical composition of C40H56. Adolf Lieben in studies, also published in 1886, of the colouring matter in corpora lutea, first came across carotenoids in animal tissue, but did not recognise the nature of the pigment. Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum, in 1868–1869, after stereoscopic spectral examination, applied the term luteine(lutein) to this class of yellow crystallizable substances found in animals and plants. Richard Martin Willstätter, who gained the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1915, mainly for his work on chlorophyll, assigned the composition of C40H56, distinguishing it from the similar but oxygenated xanthophyll, C40H56O2.
The vaginal vault is the expanded region of the vaginal canal at the internal end of the vagina. Prolapse
The vaginal vault may prolapse after a hysterectomy, as there is no uterus supporting the interior end of the vagina. Colposacropexy is often used for treating vaginal vault prolapse. A Cochrane Collaboration review[needs update] found that limited data are available on optimal surgical approaches, including the use of transvaginal surgical mesh devices, in the form of a patch or sling, similar to its implementation for abdominal hernia. However, the use of a transvaginal mesh in treating vaginal prolapses is associated with side effects including pain, infection, and organ perforation. According to the FDA, serious complications are "not rare." A number of class action lawsuits have been filed and settled against several manufacturers of TVM devices. See also
Vagina
Hysterectomy

References
External links
Dictionary definition of "Vaginal vault" from TheFreeDictionary.com