The menstrual cycle is the recurring physiological changes in a
female's body that are under the control of the reproductive hormone
system and necessary for reproduction. In women, menstrual cycles
occur typically on a monthly basis between puberty and menopause.
Besides humans, only great apes exhibit menstrual cycles, in contrast
to the estrus cycle of most mammalian species. During the menstrual
cycle, the sexually mature female body releases one egg (or
occasionally two, which might result in non-identical twins) at the
time of ovulation. The lining of the uterus, the endometrium, builds
up in a synchronised fashion. After ovulation, this lining changes to
prepare for potential implantation of the fertilized egg to establish
a pregnancy. If fertilisation and pregnancy do not ensue, the uterus
sheds the lining and a new menstrual cycle begins.us.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1800:
Gabriel Prosser attempted a slave rebellion in Virginia, United
States.
1813:
Napoleonic Wars: An Austrian-Prussian-Russian alliance defeated the
French forces in the Battle of Kulm.
1862:
American Civil War: James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson led their
Confederate troops to a decisive victory in the Second Battle of Bull
Run.
1992:
Michael Schumacher won his first Formula One race at the Belgian Grand
Prix.
1999:
The people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a
referendum.
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Wikiquote of the day:
I find that the great thing in this world is not so much where we
stand as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven,
we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it— but we
must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor." -- Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Sr.
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes%2C_Sr.)