1. A method for characterizing elasticity of a vaginal tissue, said method comprising the steps of: (a) deforming said vaginal tissue by a transvaginal probe about a first measurement point; (b) obtaining stress and strain data for said first measurement point using said transvaginal probe, said stress and strain data resulting from deformation applied to said vaginal tissue; and (c) calculating a stress gradient using said stress and strain data to characterize elasticity of said vaginal tissue.