The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's lower abdomen in which a fetus grows during pregnancy. When a woman is not pregnant, her monthly menstrual period flows from the uterus.
The lower part of the uterus (cervix) opens into the vagina. The opening to the cervix is narrow except during labor and birth, when it stretches and widens to accommodate the baby's passage out of the uterus.
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise