THE RHYTHMS OF SEX 151 



thyroid, the adrenal and the pituitary, are necessary to the func- 

 tions of menstruation, impregnation, settlement of fertilized ovum 

 in the wall of the uterus, labor and lactation. A disturbance of 

 one of them will set up disturbances all along the line, and a 

 resonance of distress or compensation upon the part of all of 

 them. As an interlocking directorate over the sexual functions 

 of the female, they are members one of the other. So what 

 helps or hurts one, helps or hurts all. 



The Cycle of Menstruation 



Essentially, the ovary is a collection of follicles, nests of cells, 

 acting as safe deposit vaults for the ova that are to become can- 

 didates for fertilization. At birth, there are some 30,000 to 

 200,000 of these, of which a good many atrophy during child- 

 hood so that there are no more than about 30,000 left at puberty. 

 Of the 30,000, only an elite 400 actually mature between the 

 ages of fifteen and forty-five. About every twenty-eight days, 

 one of the follicles swells, becomes filled with liquid, pushes or is 

 pushed to the surface of the ovary, there to rupture and expel 

 into the abdominal cavity the tiny ripe ovum. The rest of the 

 torn follicle makes itself over into a peculiar yellowish body, 

 the true corpus luteum, should pregnancy occur. If pregnancy 

 and the consequent placenta do not occur, it shrinks and turns 

 into a scar, the false corpus luteum. The true corpus luteum 

 resembles closely the adrenal cortex in make-up and staining 

 reactions. It seems as if, once successful impregnation has been 

 achieved, the feminine organism adrenalizes itself, makes itself 

 more masculine and less feminine, inhibiting the posterior pitui« 

 tary and the adrenal medulla, as well as the ovaries. Besides, 

 the corpus luteum stimulates the thyroid to prepare for the heavy 

 demands to be made upon it during pregnancy. 



Before menstruation, there is a stage of preparation, a stir 

 and twittering of the endocrines, the premenstrual state. Cur- 

 rents of communication flow between the different glands, mes- 

 sages and replies pass to and fro. When these are properly 

 balanced, so that all goes well, the consciousness of the woman 

 will be disturbed by no knowledge of them. In some women 

 abnormal sensations appear, a sense of fullness in the breasts, 

 or of weight in the back or pelvis, or pain in the head. The 

 last is probably due to swelling of the pituitary beyond the 

 capacity of its bony container. In a good many women, nervous 



