Skene's glands

In human anatomy (female), the Skene's glands (also known as the lesser vestibular, periurethral glands, skene glands, paraurethral glands, U-spot, or female prostate) are glands located on the anterior wall of the vagina, around the lower end of the urethra. They drain into the urethra and near the urethral opening. These glands are surrounded with tissue, which includes the part of the clitoris that reaches up inside the vagina and swells with blood during sexual arousal.

Homology and possible functions
The location of the Skene's gland is the general area of the urethral sponge. The Skene's glands are homologous with the prostate gland in males.

Female ejaculation
Some believe that the Skene's glands are the source of female ejaculation. In 2002, Emanuele Jannini of L'Aquila University in Italy showed that there may be an explanation both for the phenomenon and for the frequent denials of its existence. Skene's glands have highly variable anatomy, and in some extreme cases they appear to be missing entirely. If Skene's glands are the cause of female ejaculation and G-spot-orgasms, this may explain the observed absence of these phenomena in many women.

It has been demonstrated that a large amount of lubricating fluid (filtered blood plasma) can be secreted from this gland when stimulated from inside the vagina.

Female prostate
The fluid that emerges during female ejaculation has a composition similar to the fluid generated in males by the prostate gland, containing biochemical markers of sexual function like human protein 1 and the enzyme PDE5. When examined with electron microscopy, both glands show similar secretory structures, and both act similarly in terms of prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific acid phosphatase studies. Because they are increasingly perceived as merely different versions of the same gland, some researchers are moving away from the name Skene's gland and referring to it instead as the female prostate.

Eponym
The glands were named after the physician who described them first in Western medical literature, Elexander Skene.