Anatomy word the month: Mons veneris

The fat pad over the pubic area of females is currently termed the mons pubis (pubic mountain-Latin).  An older term, the mons veneris (the mountain of Venus) referred to the Roman Goddess of Love, also known as Aphrodite in Greek mythology. Venus not only brought the pleasures of love, but also the perils of passion.  She is ruefully remembered in venereal diseases, literally “diseases of love”.