The odors of the human vagina

Arch Gynakol. 1975 Dec 16;220(1):1-10. doi: 10.1007/BF00673143.

Abstract

Gas-chromatography analysis of 90 samples of vaginal secretions from 10 women revealed that at any given sample time the perceptible vaginal odor of each individual women was composed of numerous separate odorous effluents. Almost 2,1000 odoriferous effluents were observed. This corresponded to 16% of all recorded peaks on the 90 gas-chromatograms. The odorous effluents were assigned 34 characteristic odors in three hedonic categories (neutral, pleasant and unpleasant). This information supports the contention that the olfactory signature of an individual is complex, highly individual and composed of many "mini odors".

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Chromatography, Gas / methods
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Odorants / analysis*
  • Vagina / analysis*