780 THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 



Menstrual Life. The occurrence of a menstrual discharge is one of 

 the most prominent indications of the commencement of puberty in the fe- 

 male sex; though its absence even for several years is not necessarily at- 

 tended with arrest of the other characters of this period of life or incapability 

 of impregnation. The average time of its first appearance in females of 

 this country and others of about the same latitude is from fourteen to fifteen: 

 but it is much influenced by the kind of life to which girls are subjected, 

 being accelerated by habits of luxury and indolence, and retarded by con- 

 trary conditions. Its appearance may be slightly earlier in persons dwelling 

 in warm climates than in those inhabiting colder latitudes. The menstrual 

 functions continue through the whole fruitful period of a woman's life, and 

 usually cease between the forty-fifth and fiftieth years, which time is known 

 as the climacteric. Menstruation does not usually occur in pregnant women. 



