a. and sb. [f. prec. + -AL. Cf. F. vaginal (1762), Pg. vaginal.]
A. adj. 1. Anat. and Med. Of the nature of, having the form or function of, a sheath; serving as a sheath. Vaginal process, a process or apophysis of the lower portion of the temporal bone, partially enclosing the styloid process.
1726. Monro, Anatomy 164. The Cavity between the Zygomatic, Auditory and vaginal Process.
1767. Phil. Trans., LVII. 295. The vaginal coat of the testicle.
1831. R. Knox, Cloquet’s Anat., 55. A bony lamina, called the vaginal process…, which forms the posterior limit of the glenoid cavity.
1873. Mivart, Elem. Anat., 80. A sharp ridge runs inwards and forwards from the root of the styloid process. This ridge is termed the vaginal process.
1899. Syd. Soc. Lex., s.v., Vaginal coat of the eye, capsule of Tenon. Ibid., Vaginal tunic.
b. Bot. = VAGINANT a.
1857. Henfrey, Bot., § 75. The vaginal petiolar region is more or less distinctly evident in many Monocotyledonous leaves.
2. Of, pertaining to, or affecting the vagina.
1825. Good, Study Med. (ed. 2), V. 156, marg. The vaginal polypus sometimes dispersed by stimulants and astringents.
1840. E. Wilson, Anat. Vade M. (1842), 314. The Uterine and Vaginal arteries of the female are derived from the internal iliac, or Ischiatic arteries.
1855. Ramsbotham, Obstet. Med. & Surg., 36. The vaginal canal becomes much contracted in advanced life.
1878. T. Bryant, Pract. Surg., I. 688. Vaginal and labial hernia may be mistaken for the mucous cysts of those parts.
b. Of instruments: Used in dealing with, or operating on, the vagina.
1875. Knight, Dict. Mech., 2687/2. Vaginal speculum. Ibid., Vaginal syringe.
1895. Arnold & Sons’ Catal. Surg. Instrum., 411. Vaginal and uterine instruments.
B. sb. A vaginal artery or muscle.
1872. T. G. Thomas, Dis. Women (ed. 3), 52. Sim’s instrument, on the other hand, elevates the posterior vaginal wall.
