The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of eggs and the cyclic release of estrogen and progesterone. The uterine cycle governs the preparation and maintenance of the lining of the uterus (womb) to receive an embryo. These cycles are concurrent and coordinated, normally last between 21 and 35 days, with a median length of 28 days, and continue for about 30–45 years.
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston, is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and Labour peer.
Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), also known as atypical vaginal bleeding (AVB), is vaginal bleeding from the uterus that is abnormally frequent, lasts excessively long, is heavier than normal, or is irregular. The term dysfunctional uterine bleeding was used when no underlying cause was present. Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy is excluded. Iron deficiency anemia may occur and quality of life may be negatively affected.
Vaginal bleeding is any expulsion of blood from the vagina. This bleeding may originate from the uterus, vaginal wall, or cervix. Generally, it is either part of a normal menstrual cycle or is caused by hormonal or other problems of the reproductive system, such as abnormal uterine bleeding.
Polymenorrhea, also known as frequent periods, frequent menstruation, or frequent menstrual bleeding, is a menstrual disorder in which menstrual cycles are shorter than 21 days in length and hence where menstruation occurs more frequently than usual. Cycles are regular and menstrual flow is normal in the condition. Normally, menstrual cycles are 25 to 30 days in length, with a median duration of 28 days.
Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis.
Neva Haites OBE FRSE FMedSci is a scientist and physician who investigates molecular genetics and diseases in humans and specialises in cancer genetics; she has more than 90 publications in genetics concerning inherited predisposition to cancer, retinitis pigmentosa, hereditary motor neuropathy and sensory neuropathy.
Annabelle "Anna" Frances Glasier OBE, FFSRH, FRCOG FRSE is an English physician in the field of reproductive medicine. Glasier is a world expert on emergency contraception, and her work has been instrumental in making it available in the UK and other countries without medical prescription
Doreen Ann CantrellCBE, FRS, FRSE, FMedSci is a British scientist and Professor of Cellular Immunology at the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. She researches the development and activation T lymphocytes, which are key to the understanding the immune response.
Serdar Bulun is a gynecologist, with a special interest in the common gynecologic diseases, endometriosis and uterine fibroids.
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics is an international organization that links about 125 international professional societies of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In 2011 FIGO recognized two systems designed to aid research, education, and clinical care of women with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in the reproductive years. This page is a summary of the systems and their use in contemporary gynecology.
Rhian M. Touyz Koppel MBBCh, MSc (Med), PhD, FRCP, FRSE, FMedSci, FCAHS is a Canadian medical researcher. She is currently serving as the Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada, since 2021. A clinician scientist, her research primarily focuses on hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Philippa Saunders, FRSE is Chair of Reproductive Steroids and Director of Postgraduate Research for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, and Registrar of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Her research explores the mechanisms behind how sex steroids impact on repair, regeneration and cell replication throughout the body.
Andrea C. Gore is a neuroendocrinology professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the Division of Toxicology and Pharmacology, where she holds the Vacek Chair of Pharmacology. She is a prominent contributor to the field of reproductive endocrinology. Her research interests span from the neurological basis of reproductive aging to endocrine disruptors in the nervous system. From January 2013 through December 2017, she was Editor-in-Chief of the journal Endocrinology. She has also been elected into the Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Laura Machesky FRSE FMedSci is a British-American cancer research scientist currently based in the University of Cambridge. Professor Machesky is the Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Biochemistry, and the current president of the British Society for Cell Biology.
Professor Jane Norman MD, MB ChB, CCT, MRCOG, FRCOG, FRCP Edin, F Med Sci, FRSE is an academic and physician. She was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Bristol in 2019, and Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham in December 2022.
Duru Shah is a Mumbai-based gynaecologist academic and women activist. She is the Founder President of the PCOS Society, India and a promoter of adolescent girls and women's health and infertility in India. Shah is also the promoter of Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. She is also a Consultant ObGyn.: Breach Candy Hospital, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.
Angelica Lindén Hirschberg is a Swedish obstetrician, gynecologist and academic. She is a professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Karolinska Institutet, Senior Consultant in the Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine and the Head of Women's Health Research Unit at the Karolinska University Hospital.
Linda C. Giudice is an American gynecologist and obstetrician whose research has focused on the genetics of infertility, endometriosis, and the mechanisms of the menstrual cycle, along with the impacts of environmental pollutants on women's fertility. A New Yorker, she had an accelerated education with a heavy emphasis on the sciences, moving through multiple disciplines of engineering for her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Her postdoctoral fellowships introduced her to translational medicine and the genetics of women's health, resulting in her returning to her studies to obtain a medical degree.
Markku Tapio Seppälä is a Finnish physician specialising in obstetrics and gynecology. He graduated with a licentiate in medicine in 1964 and a doctorate in medicine and surgery in 1965. During his research activities that began in 1962, Seppälä has published approx. 500 peer-reviewed studies in international series, including collaborations with two Nobel Prize winners in medicine or physiology. His other scholarly output includes 5 books, and around 100 review articles, securing him international acclaim and positioning him among the top researchers in his field as per the Science Citation Index (SCI) in 2002. Seppälä was part of the team that delivered Finland's first IVF baby in 1984. Seppälä was awarded the Matti Äyräpää prize in 1981 for his research on fetal development proteins.
