Picture of a closed cervix

What Does A Cervix Look Like? 7 Cervix Pictures, Explained

Think of your cervix as the gatekeeper to your uterus. Lots of things—like tampons, fingers, penises, sex toys, and other germ-carrying items—can get to your cervix, but they aren't getting past it. Your cervix, in its 24/7 role of keeping your uterus happy and healthy, won't let that happen.

Likewise, there are things—like mucous, menstrual blood, and the occasional baby—that need to get out of your uterus. Your cervix is the bouncer, deciding what and when things go in and come out of the most vital piece of your reproductive system. Yet, despite benefiting from its work, day in and day out, chances are you don't know much about it.

So...what does a cervix even look like?

Great Q! Your cervix is the "neck" of your uterus, positioned at the top of your vaginal canal. Because of its location, seeing your cervix isn't as easy as squatting over a hand mirror, like you would if you were examining your other lady bits, but it is possible with the right tools.

All you need is a flashlight, a mirror, a retractable speculum, and a little courage. If you don't have a speculum just lying around your bathroom (and if you do, we want to hear that story!) you can buy a starter kit for $22.95 from the Beautiful Cervix Project. It even comes with a handy map to guide you through your own nethers. Once there you can admire the beauty of your own, unique cervix and even snap some cervix pictures if you're so inclined. (Use this handy video guide for tips on getting a good picture of your vaginal canal and cervix.)

The Beautiful Cervix Project is a movement to better understand and appreciate the awesomeness of the underrated cervix. O’Nell Starkey started it as a project for midwifery school, with her husband taking snaps of her cervix throughout her cycle. She quickly discovered, as she's put it, “Cervices are amazing!”

After sharing her images with the world, she found that other women also wanted to see their own cervices (that's plural for cervix!), leading her to start the Beautiful Cervix Project, as well as live workshops dedicated to helping women learn about and appreciate their bodies.

"What I have learned by creating this website is that people from all over the world are curious about their bodies, cervices, and the menstrual cycle—everyone from newly menstruating teens, pregnant people, medical students, people with abnormal Paps, to people trying to conceive, artists, educators, and the list goes on," Starkey says. "Cervical self-exam is about educating and empowering people by contradicting some of the shame and under-education we have about our bodies and menstrual cycles.

The Beautiful Cervix Project is dedicated to people working to reclaim their entire bodies as beautiful and lovable. The more we know about ourselves, the more we feel confident to advocate and care for ourselves."

While each cervix is slightly different (which is why we recommend checking out your own cervix!), they all go through similar changes during your monthly cycle, when you're pregnant, during labor and delivery, and after giving birth. Curious? Starkey was kind enough to share some cervix pictures to help you see what your cervix is up to...right now.

During the Follicular Phase

When your cervix is just hanging out, the visible part of the cervix protrudes into the vaginal canal and is covered by smooth, pink, squamous epithelium, says Kim Thornton, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF. In this picture, the cervix is preparing for ovulation by preparing more fluid.

During Ovulation

The cervix looks a little bit like a donut. When it's closed, the hole looks like a dimple, but it opens during ovulation to let sperm in, explains Ronald D. Blatt, M.D., gynecologist and chief surgeon and medical director of the Manhattan Center for Vaginal Surgery.

During the Luteal Phase

After ovulation, the cervix prepares for menstruation. In this picture the cervix is just doing its thing, waiting for either a pregnancy or shark week to happen. The average cervix measures 3 to 5 centimeters in length and 2 to 3 centimeters in diameter, Thornton says.

During Menstruation

When your flow comes to visit, you know the blood is coming from somewhere up in there, but this picture shows exactly how it comes out of your cervix. Again, the dimple in the center—called the os—is in the open position to release menstrual fluids, Blatt says.

During Sex

This is a picture of the cervix just minutes after the woman had an orgasm during sex (you can even see the semen pooled around the bottom). Depending on the size of you and your partner's anatomy, the penis can bump into the cervix during sex. Some women find the sensation enjoyable and may even orgasm from it, according to a study published in the journal Hormones and Behavior. Others find repeated thrusting into the cervix to be incredibly painful and it can cause bruising or even tearing of your cervical tissue.

During Pregnancy

Your sex life and monthly cycle may keep your cervix busy, but the real work happens during pregnancy and delivery. In this picture, the woman is about two months pregnant. The white goo, called leukorrhea, is very common type of vaginal discharge that can occur during pregnancy and is nothing to worry about, Starkey says.

During a Pap Smear

Getting swabbed for a Pap smear and HPV test isn't anyone's idea of a good time but it's a necessary evil to catch cervical cancer and other diseases before they can cause more harm. But you don't have to do them every year, says Devorah Daley, M.D., ob-gyn at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. "The recommendation is to have your first Pap smear at age 21—it does not matter when sexual activity has started," she says. "After that, for younger women, every other year is sufficient. Starting at age 30, we recommend every three years if you're doing just the Pap. "

If, however, you get co-tested—meaning your Pap and HPV tests are collected at the same time—Dr. Daley says you can stretch that time frame out to five years. "Even if you were to leave the office and come in contact with [HPV], it doesn't cause initial problems for about five years," she says.

It's believed that more than 90 percent of cervical cancer cases are caused by HPV, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with higher incidence rates among Black and Hispanic people. However, it's hard to know whether that prevalence is due to socioeconomic factors (such as access to health care) or other variables.

Amy Wilkinson

Amy Wilkinson is an entertainment editor who also specializes in health and wellness. When not editing or writing, she can be found teaching Pilates as a comprehensively certified instructor.

Cervix Health: 8 Things Every Woman Needs To Know About Her Cervix

Chances are you haven't given your cervix much thought. Unlike the labia, clitoris, and vaginal canal, the cervix doesn't get a lot of love—literally and figuratively speaking.

Part of that is due to its location, way at the top of your vaginal canal. You can't see it and you won't feel it unless you're actively trying to. It just sits up there, quietly doing its job, and unless something goes wrong with it, you're likely to forget its even there.

Many women don't think about their cervix until they are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant. Once you're trying to conceive, you'll hear lots of talk about the state of your cervix—how long it is, how thin it is, if anything is coming out of it. But you don't have to be gestating to appreciate the power of this little organ.

Your cervix is doing a lot for you, right this very second. It plays a vital role in protecting your health and helping your reproductive system run as smoothly as possible—it's how sperm get in and menstrual blood gets out, after all, explains Kim L. Thornton, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at Boston IVF and an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School.

It may even help you have a better sex life: It's possible for some women to have an orgasm just from (gentle) cervical stimulation alone, according to a study published in the journal Hormones and Behavior. And even if you can't get off simply from cervical stimulation, adding that to clitoral stimulation may give you a more intense climax. Who wouldn't want that?

So to help you understand just what your cervix means to you, we asked doctors to share what they most wish women understood about the tiny organ.

It's the gateway between your vagina and your uterus

Technically, the cervix is the lower third of the uterus and is considered to be the “neck” of the uterus, connecting the uterus to the vaginal canal, says Thornton. If you stick your fingers up inside your vagina (like, all the way up) you can feel the part of your cervix that protrudes into your vagina. It should feel smooth and firm—similar to the end of your nose—and depending on the time of the month, may have a lot of mucous.

It looks like a tiny, pink button—with a dimple

Despite the fact that the speculum they use to reach your cervix during your annual gyno exam seems huge, the cervix itself is actually pretty small, Thornton says. On average it measures three to five centimeters thick and two to three centimeters across. If you were to look at the "visible" part of the cervix (the part that sticks out into the vagina), it would look smooth and pink with a little dimple in the middle. The color, shape, and discharge that comes out can change, depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle.

Watch an ob-gyn explain how much discharge is normal:

It's your uterine defense and baby-transport system

Thanks to its ability to change size and shape in response to hormones, the cervix is a bit of an acrobat, says Ronald D. Blatt, M.D., chief surgeon and medical director of the Manhattan Center for Vaginal Surgery. It has two main functions: When you're not pregnant, it protects you by keeping germs and other stuff (pool water, tampons, sex toys) from going further up inside you. If and when you do decide you want to make a baby, it helps the sperm get to the egg and, once you're pregnant, helps keep the baby inside the uterus. Then when you go into labor, it opens up to let the baby out.

Fun fact: When your doctor tells you how "dilated" and "effaced" you are, they're talking about how wide your cervix has opened and how much it's thinned out, in preparation for getting that baby out, he explains.

You can bruise it during sex

Bigger is not always better when it comes to penis size, says Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob-gyn and author of She-ology. Depending on both partners' anatomy, deep thrusting during penis-in-vagina sex may cause the penis to bump into your cervix.

This is one of those things that you probably can't understand unless it happens to you—and if it does, you'll know it. A little tap will likely just feel like a sharp poke, but repeated thrusting into your cervix can be incredibly painful and can cause bruising or even tearing of your cervical tissue.

If you feel pain deep inside you after having sex, make an appointment to see your doctor who can help you deal with the pain and suggest ways to prevent it from happening again, she adds.

It can give you early warning signs for cancer, STIs, and other diseases

"Because it's so hormonally sensitive and due to its position, it is often the first site of an identifiable bacterial or viral infection," Thornton says. These include cervical cancer, sexually-transmitted infections (especially those caused by HPV), and some other diseases.

But how will you know if you can't see it? You may notice smelly or off-colored mid-cycle discharge, your doctor may pick up on changes in the surface of the cervix during an exam, or a test may detect changes in the cells on your cervix (which is the whole point of the Pap smear test!), she explains.

(Kick-start your new, healthy routine with Women's Health's 12-Week Total-Body Transformation!)

It can get damaged

Your cervix provides a vital service to your overall health and you want to make sure you're taking care of it by avoiding things that can hurt it. Sexually-transmitted infections are the most common cause of damage to the cervix, but certain surgeries, a traumatic event during childbirth, and radiation cancer treatments can also cause scarring and dysfunction, Thornton says.

It can tell you how fertile you are

Cervical mucous changes in response to estrogen and progesterone, making it one of the best indicators of where you're at in your cycle and when you are likely to be ovulating and most fertile, Thornton says.

At the beginning of your cycle, right after your bleeding stops, you will probably have creamier discharge or mucous. By the time you're ready to ovulate, it turns thinner, watery and slightly sticky, like egg yolks—the perfect environment for sperm to travel in. Then, in the luteal phase, peak PMS time, the cervical mucus becomes thick and hostile to sperm.

Cervical cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer—but it doesn't have to be

Cervical cancer isn't the most common cancer in women (that's skin cancer) but it does have a relatively high mortality rate thanks to its ability to go undetected until it is very advanced. It doesn't have to be this way, however, and early detection is everything.

Ninety-one percent of women diagnosed in the earliest stage will survive, but by the time the cancer has spread to other areas of the body the survival rate is a mere 17 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. One of the biggest causes is the human papilloma virus (HPV), Blatt says. This is why it's so important to get regular gynecological checkups, stay on top of your Pap smears and HPV tests, and get the HPV vaccine, he explains.

Changes in the cervix during pregnancy

Pregnancy is always pleasant, but sometimes not planned. And not all women have time to prepare for it, to be fully examined before its onset. And the detection of diseases of the cervix already during pregnancy can be an unpleasant discovery.

The cervix is the lower segment of the uterus in the form of a cylinder or cone. In the center is the cervical canal, one end of which opens into the uterine cavity, and the other into the vagina. On average, the length of the cervix is 3–4 cm, the diameter is about 2.5 cm, and the cervical canal is closed. The cervix has two parts: lower and upper. The lower part is called the vaginal, because it protrudes into the vaginal cavity, and the upper part is supravaginal, because it is located above the vagina. The cervix is connected to the vagina through the vaginal fornices. There is an anterior arch - short, posterior - deeper and two lateral ones. Inside the cervix passes the cervical canal, which opens into the uterine cavity with an internal pharynx, and is clogged with mucus from the side of the vagina. Mucus is normally impervious to infections and microbes, or to spermatozoa. But in the middle of the menstrual cycle, the mucus thins and becomes permeable to sperm.

Outside, the surface of the cervix has a pinkish tint, it is smooth and shiny, durable, and from the inside it is bright pink, velvety and loose.

The cervix during pregnancy is an important organ, both in anatomical and functional terms. It must be remembered that it promotes the process of fertilization, prevents infection from entering the uterine cavity and appendages, helps to "endure" the baby and participates in childbirth. That is why regular monitoring of the condition of the cervix during pregnancy is simply necessary.

During pregnancy, a number of physiological changes occur in this organ. For example, a short time after fertilization, its color changes: it becomes cyanotic. The reason for this is the extensive vascular network and its blood supply. Due to the action of estriol and progesterone, the tissue of the cervix becomes soft. During pregnancy, the cervical glands expand and become more branched.

Screening examination of the cervix during pregnancy includes: cytological examination, smears for flora and detection of infections. Cytological examination is often the first key step in the examination of the cervix, since it allows to detect very early pathological changes that occur at the cellular level, including in the absence of visible changes in the cervical epithelium. The examination is carried out to identify the pathology of the cervix and the selection of pregnant women who need a more in-depth examination and appropriate treatment in the postpartum period. When conducting a screening examination, in addition to a doctor's examination, a colposcopy may be recommended. As you know, the cervix is covered with two types of epithelium: squamous stratified from the side of the vagina and single-layer cylindrical from the side of the cervical canal. Epithelial cells are constantly desquamated and end up in the lumen of the cervical canal and in the vagina. Their structural characteristics make it possible, when examined under a microscope, to distinguish healthy cells from atypical ones, including cancerous ones.

During pregnancy, in addition to physiological changes in the cervix, some borderline and pathological processes may occur.

Under the influence of hormonal changes that occur in a woman's body during the menstrual cycle, cyclic changes also occur in the cells of the epithelium of the cervical canal. During the period of ovulation, the secretion of mucus by the glands of the cervical canal increases, and its qualitative characteristics change. With injuries or inflammatory lesions, sometimes the glands of the cervix can become clogged, a secret accumulates in them and cysts form - Naboth follicles or Naboth gland cysts that have been asymptomatic for many years. Small cysts do not require any treatment. And pregnancy, as a rule, is not affected. Only large cysts that strongly deform the cervix and continue to grow may require opening and evacuation of the contents. However, this is very rare and usually requires monitoring during pregnancy.

Quite often, in pregnant women, during a mirror examination of the vaginal part, polyps cervix. The occurrence of polyps is most often associated with a chronic inflammatory process. As a result, a focal proliferation of the mucosa is formed, sometimes with the involvement of muscle tissue and the formation of a pedicle. They are mostly asymptomatic. Sometimes they are a source of blood discharge from the genital tract, more often of contact origin (after sexual intercourse or defecation). The size of the polyp is different - from millet grain rarely to the size of a walnut, their shape also varies. Polyps are single and multiple, their stalk is located either at the edge of the external pharynx, or goes deep into the cervical canal. Sometimes during pregnancy there is an increase in the size of the polyp, in some cases quite fast. Rarely, polyps first appear during pregnancy. The presence of a polyp is always a potential threat of miscarriage, primarily because it creates favorable conditions for ascending infection. Therefore, as a rule, more frequent monitoring of the cervix follows. The tendency to trauma, bleeding, the presence of signs of tissue necrosis and decay, as well as questionable secretions require special attention and control. Treatment of cervical polyps is only surgical and during pregnancy, in most cases, treatment is postponed until the postpartum period, since even large polyps do not interfere with childbirth.

The most common pathology of the cervix in women is erosion . Erosion is a defect in the mucous membrane. True erosion is not very common. The most common pseudo-erosion (ectopia) is a pathological lesion of the cervical mucosa, in which the usual flat stratified epithelium of the outer part of the cervix is replaced by cylindrical cells from the cervical canal. Often this happens as a result of mechanical action: with frequent and rough sexual intercourse, desquamation of the stratified squamous epithelium occurs. Erosion is a multifactorial disease. The reasons may be:

genital infections, vaginal dysbacteriosis and inflammatory diseases of the female genital area;
is an early onset of sexual activity and a frequent change of sexual partners. The mucous membrane of the female genital organs finally matures by the age of 20-23. If an infection interferes with this delicate process, erosion is practically unavoidable;
is an injury to the cervix. The main cause of such injuries is, of course, childbirth and abortion;
hormonal disorders;
, cervical pathology may also occur with a decrease in the protective functions of immunity.

The presence of erosion does not affect pregnancy in any way, as well as pregnancy on erosion. Treatment during pregnancy consists in the use of general and local anti-inflammatory drugs for inflammatory diseases of the vagina and cervix. And in most cases, just dynamic observation is enough. Surgical treatment is not carried out throughout the entire pregnancy, since the excess of risks and benefits is significant, and after treatment during childbirth, there may be problems with opening the cervix.

Almost all women with various diseases of the cervix safely bear and happily give birth to beautiful babies!

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Dear patients!
Multidisciplinary Clinic and Maternity Hospital "Paracelsus" informs you, according to the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation to the Federal Tax Service dated March 25, 2022. N BS-4-11 / 3605, that subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the taxpayer's right to receive a social tax deduction in the amount paid by him in the tax period for medical services provided by medical organizations engaged in medical activities , him, his spouse, parents, children (including adopted children) under the age of 18, wards under the age of 18 (in accordance with the list of medical services approved by the Government of the Russian Federation).

Joint order of the Ministry of Taxation of Russia and the Ministry of Health of Russia of July 25, 2001 N 289 / BG-3-04 / 256 (hereinafter - the order of July 25, 2001) approved the form of the Certificate of payment for medical services for submission to the tax authorities of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the Certificate payment for medical services).

This certificate certifies the fact of receiving a medical service and its payment through the cash desk of a healthcare institution at the expense of the taxpayer.