The paper gives an analytical review of the results of recent researches into the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the vagina and vulva. The characteristic feature of inflammatory diseases of the lower genital tract is shown to be the predominance of mixed infections, and the formation of various bacterial and bacterial-fungal associations in the vaginal biotope (associations of gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria and fungi of the genus Candida) leads to a change in the clinical picture and to the paucisymptomatic forms of the disease, which complicate diagnosis and treatment. The paper states the basic requirements for a drug for the rational therapy of vaginal and vulvar infectious and inflammatory diseases of mixed bacterial and fungal etiologies, which should have a wide range of antimicrobial activity and a non-suppressive effect on the normal vaginal microflora (lactobacilli, bifidobacteria). Polygynax is a vaginal combination drug designed in France, which meets the above requirements in composition (neomycin sulfate 35 000 IU, polymyxin B sulfate 35,000 IU, and nystatin 100,000 IU in one capsule). The paper gives the results of original investigations by both Russian and foreign authors, which have shown the high efficacy of polygynax in the treatment of both bacterial and fungal vaginitis. The efficacy of polygynax is of value not only against C. albicans strains, but also against C. non-albicans ones resistant to other drugs. The local use of the drug prevents the development of resistance of the pathological microflora. Polygynax does not inhibit the growth of the vaginal Lactobacillus microflora. It is the drug of choice in the local treatment of vaginitis, especially when treatment should be initiated before the results of microbiological examination are available.