Also called: Menses, Menstrual period, Period

Menstruation, or period, is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman’s monthly cycle. Every month, your body prepares for pregnancy. If no pregnancy occurs, the uterus, or womb, sheds its lining. The menstrual blood is partly blood and partly tissue from inside the uterus. It passes out of the body through the vagina.

Periods usually start between age 11 and 14 and continue until menopause at about age 51. They usually last from three to five days. Besides bleeding from the vagina, you may have

Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is a group of symptoms that start before the period. It can include emotional and physical symptoms.

Consult your health care provider if you have big changes in your cycle. They may be signs of other problems that should be treated.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Pelvic pain occurs mostly in the lower abdomen area. The pain might be steady, or it might come and go. It can be a sharp and stabbing pain in a specific spot, or a dull pain that is spread out. If the pain is severe, it might get in the way of your daily activities.

If you’re a woman, you might feel pain during your period. It could also happen when you have sex. Pelvic pain can be a sign that there is a problem with one of the organs in your pelvic area, such as the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, or vagina. If you’re a man, the cause could be problem with the prostate. In men and women, it could be a symptom of infection, or a problem with the urinary tract, lower intestines, rectum, muscle, or bone. Some women have more than one cause of pelvic pain at the same time.

You might have to have lab, imaging, or other medical tests to find the cause of the pain. The treatment will depend on the cause, how bad the pain is, and how often it occurs.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

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