What is Menopause?
A. The word “menopause” (“ménespausie”) was used for the first time in 1816 by Gardanne.26 Initially, the phenomenon of menopause was explained as a deficiency of ganglionic regulatory functions. In 1910, Marshall27 recognized that the ovary should be classified as an endocrine organ. From the endocrine perspective, the menopause represents a primary ovarian insufficiency and has an inception between the ages of 40 and 56 years, with a mean age of 51 years.28 From a scientific perspective, natural menopause coincides with the FMP, and this cannot be determined until there have been12 months of amenorrhea.9 This definition is based on clinical epidemiological evidence that the probability of resumption of menstruation after 12 months of amenorrhea is vanishingly small.29,30 Much confusion has been caused by differing definitions used in relationship to changing ovarian status. Definitions were provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) Scientific Group on Research on the Menopause
A. The word “menopause” (“ménespausie”) was used for the first time in 1816 by Gardanne.26 Initially, the phenomenon of menopause was explained as a deficiency of ganglionic regulatory functions. In 1910, Marshall27 recognized that the ovary should be classified as an endocrine organ. From the endocrine perspective, the menopause represents a primary ovarian insufficiency and has an inception between the ages of 40 and 56 years, with a mean age of 51 years.28 From a scientific perspective, natural menopause coincides with the FMP, and this cannot be determined until there have been12 months of amenorrhea.9 This definition is based on clinical epidemiological evidence that the probability of resumption of menstruation after 12 months of amenorrhea is vanishingly small.29,30 Much confusion has been caused by differing definitions used in relationship to changing ovarian status. Definitions were provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) Scientific Group on Research on the Menopause
