Main Entry:

men·stru·a·tion

Pronunciation:

\ˌmen(t)-strü-ˈwā-shən, men-ˈstrā-\

Function:

noun

Date:

1686

: a discharging of blood, secretions, and tissue debris from the uterus that recurs in nonpregnant breeding-age primate females at approximately monthly intervals and that is considered to represent a readjustment of the uterus to the nonpregnant state following proliferative changes accompanying the preceding ovulation ; also : period 6c