There are two openings between your legs that are often confused for one: the urethral opening and the vaginal opening. They are separate holes with completely different functions, both located within the vulva. If you count the anus, which sits just behind them, there are three total openings in the area. But within the vulva itself, the answer is two.
The Two Openings of the Vulva
The vulva is the external genital area, and it contains two distinct openings in a small space called the vestibule. From front to back, they are:
- The urethral opening. This small hole sits just below the clitoris. It connects to your bladder through a short tube called the urethra, and its only job is to let urine out of your body. It’s quite small and can be hard to spot.
- The vaginal opening. This larger opening sits just below the urethral opening. It’s where menstrual blood exits the body, where penetrative sex occurs, and where a baby passes through during vaginal childbirth. It leads to the vaginal canal, which connects to the uterus through the cervix.
These two openings are close together but completely separate. This is why you can urinate with a tampon in: the tampon sits inside the vaginal canal, while urine exits through a different hole entirely.
Why They’re Easy to Confuse
Many people grow up thinking urine comes out of the vagina. It doesn’t. The urethral opening is small, sometimes only a few millimeters across, and it’s nestled between folds of tissue that can make it hard to see without looking closely. The vaginal opening, by contrast, is more obvious, especially when the labia are gently separated.
If you want to identify both openings on your own body, a handheld mirror and good lighting are all you need. Sitting or squatting with the mirror positioned below, you can gently part the inner labia. The urethral opening appears as a small dot or dimple located between the clitoris and the vaginal opening. The vaginal opening is below it and noticeably larger.
What the Vaginal Opening Does
The vaginal opening is the entrance to a flexible, muscular canal that stretches and contracts depending on what’s happening. During your period, the uterine lining sheds and exits through this canal. During arousal, the vaginal walls expand and produce lubrication, making penetration more comfortable. During childbirth, the tissues stretch dramatically thanks to layers of collagen and elastic fibers built into the vaginal wall.
Deeper inside, at the top of the vaginal canal, the cervix acts as a gateway between the vagina and the uterus. It has its own tiny opening called the cervical os, which allows menstrual blood to flow out and sperm to travel in. This isn’t an opening you can see or feel at the vulva, but it’s part of the internal anatomy connected to the vaginal canal.
Hymen Variations That Change the Appearance
The hymen is a thin rim of tissue that partially surrounds the vaginal opening. Most people are born with a hymen that leaves the opening mostly clear, but natural variations exist that can make the vaginal opening look different or seem partially blocked.
An imperforate hymen is a rare variation where the tissue completely covers the vaginal opening. It’s often not noticed until puberty, when menstrual blood has no way to exit and builds up behind the membrane. This creates visible pressure or a bluish bulge at the opening. A minor surgical procedure corrects it.
A septate hymen has a band of tissue running across the vaginal opening, creating what looks like two smaller openings instead of one. A microperforate hymen leaves only a very tiny hole. Both of these variations allow some menstrual flow but can make inserting a tampon difficult or uncomfortable. They’re typically discovered when someone has trouble with tampons or penetrative activity, and both are correctable with a simple procedure.
The Anus Is a Separate Third Opening
The anus sits behind the vaginal opening, separated by a patch of skin called the perineum. It’s part of the digestive system, not the reproductive or urinary system, so it functions independently. While it’s in the same general region, it’s anatomically and functionally unrelated to the other two openings. When people ask “how many holes,” they sometimes mean all three, but the two that belong to the vulva are the urethral and vaginal openings.