Publisher's Synopsis
The term "period" in reference to menstruation dates from 1822 and means an "interval of time" or a "repeated cycle of events."Another word for menstruation is "catamenia," from the Greek katamenia (kata = by + menia = month). A "catamenia cup" is a firm, flexible cup worn inside the vagina to catch menstrual blood.Menstruation may have led to humanity's sense of time as most early lunar calendars were based on the length of a women's menstrual cycle.Some cultures believed that menstrual blood could cure ailments such as warts, birthmarks, gout, goiters, hemorrhoids, epilepsy, worms, leprosy, and headaches. Menstrual Blood was also used to create love charms and to ward off demons.Additionally, a virgin's first menstrual napkin was thought to be a cure for the plague.A girl's first menstrual period is called a menarche (from the Greek word men = month + arkhe = beginning). After the menarche, ovulation does not usually occur with menstruation for approximately the first year to 18 months.
