Almost everyone knows about monthly women's "problems". What is called, from small to large. Acquaintance with the female body and its features begins from the school bench, and these are the paragraphs that are read long before the biology teacher asks them. Usually this happens already when the student is given a stack of textbooks for the next year.

Despite the increased interest from this young age of both boys and girls to the issues of femininity, conception, pregnancy and childbirth, when the time comes, few parents are able to understand and understand (what is called “on the fingers”) to tell their growing child about the menstrual cycle and everything else connected with it.

Often in such situations, the child is “enclosed” with certain literature, which describes in detail the changes in the body of a girl in the puberty period. This is quite justified, the main thing here is to choose competent and intelligible material. Sometimes this is done because of the "shyness" of the parents or their unwillingness to talk with their offspring on "this" topic. But, unfortunately, in some cases this is due to a misunderstanding of such issues by the parents themselves, including mothers who are faced with cyclical transformations of their body on a monthly basis.

Let's try to at least partially understand what happens to a woman's body at a certain stage of her life.

To begin with, it would not hurt to drown out what the female cycle is. Everyone knows that the menstrual cycle is various changes in the uterus and vagina that repeat from month to month. But not only these organs! The mammary glands, hair follicles, skin, bones, adipose tissue and the whole organism as a whole are also subject to cyclic changes. The external manifestation of these complex processes is menstruation.

Normally, the first menstruation, or menarche, appears at 11–16 years of age. Since that time, it is generally accepted that a woman's body is capable of conceiving and carrying a pregnancy. This ability persists on average up to 45-50 years, and sometimes much longer. Then there is a gradual "fading" of the menstrual function, which is most often expressed in a decrease in menstruation, a decrease in their duration and the volume of blood released during menstruation, up to their complete cessation. This period is called om.

The first day of menstruation is considered to be the first day of the female cycle, its beginning, and the last day of the cycle is the day before the next menstruation, with the beginning of which a new cycle begins. And do not be afraid if the cycle is shorter or longer than others. It's very individual. A normal cycle is considered when at least 21, but not more than 35 days pass from the beginning of one menstruation to the beginning of another. In 60% of cases, there is a 28-day menstrual cycle.

Another important characteristic of it is regularity, the absence of which is permissible only for one to one and a half years after menarche. The duration of bleeding (menstruation) itself normally ranges from 2 to 7 days. They should not be very scarce or excessively abundant, gynecologists believe that the volume of blood that a woman loses these days normally corresponds to 20-80 ml.

It should be remembered that during the normal course of the menstrual cycle, a woman may feel some discomfort in the lower abdomen, in the lumbar region, but should not experience severe pain.

Usually, two phases of the menstrual cycle are distinguished, conditionally separated from each other by the "birth" of the egg - ovulation. The appearance of this special cell of the female body comes from a rounded formation that has a complex multicellular structure - the follicle.

Approximately 500 million follicles have already been laid in the body of an unborn girl, of which only 10% of women receive at least some further development in their entire life. The fate of the rest is to be on the “bench”, in reserve. Already by the time of menarche, the number of follicles is halved from those originally laid down by nature. And only about 400 follicles for the entire period, while a woman has menstruation, reach their full development, ensuring the woman's ability to conceive.

The first phase of the menstrual cycle is called folliculin. It occupies the entire first half of the cycle, that is, from its first day to the rupture of the follicle with the release of the egg. That is, with a 28-day cycle, this phase usually lasts from the first to the fourteenth day. With the onset of the folliculin phase, special cells of the woman's brain secrete a hormone into the blood in the course of a number of complex biochemical processes. This is a follicle-stimulating hormone that acts on the ovaries, causing them to grow several follicles at once.

At first, the growth rate of follicles is approximately the same, but gradually one of them begins to outstrip the others, to dominate. The rest, as if having lost "hope to be the first", slow down their growth and gradually return to their original "rudimentary" state. The “leader” follicle, on the contrary, accumulates in itself more and more “vital juices”,

grows and grows stronger, sometimes reaching up to 2-2.5 cm in diameter. The role of this very important formation of the ovary is the release of another hormone, estrogen, into the blood.

The effect of estrogens is experienced by the female body even when it is in the "stomach of the mother." The mother's hormones, penetrating into the developing daughter organism, determine the correct development of the girl's genitals. In other words, estrogens play a very important role in all periods of a woman's life. It is to them that a woman owes her beautiful, smooth skin. They prevent the formation and excessive development of hair on the skin. Estrogen (like progesterone) strengthens bone tissue, normalizes the functioning of the cardiovascular and other systems.

Here are some of the functions of estrogen:

• the development of secondary sexual characteristics of a woman during puberty (development of the mammary glands; a special type of hair growth and distribution of fatty tissue characteristic of the female body);
• improve blood supply to the uterus;
• promote the growth of the internal uterine lining (endometrium) in the first phase of the menstrual cycle;
• increase the sexual desire of a woman in the middle of the cycle, which corresponds to the moment the egg leaves the follicle, and therefore contribute to the implementation of the process of conceiving a child laid down by nature;
• facilitate the penetration of spermatozoa into the uterine cavity during the period of ovulation through the mucus located inside the cervical canal, as they reduce the viscosity of this mucus itself.

When the dose of estrogen in the blood reaches a certain level, the woman's brain begins to produce another very important factor - luteinizing hormone. This leads to the rupture of the follicle, that is, ovulation. This usually happens in the middle of the menstrual cycle,

around day 14.

Now the egg released from the follicle should get inside the uterus, which is possible only along the thin “petal” of the fallopian tube (fimbria), which, under the influence of the same estrogen, “lays down” on the surface of the ovary exactly where the follicle burst.

1. Women are not the “weaker” sex at all.

Women are usually called the weaker sex, but in fact the body of a woman is not at all weaker than a man's. There is an opinion that immunity in women is actually better and stronger than in men. It is no coincidence that they are less likely to fall ill with infectious diseases and they have fewer complications due to such diseases than men.

Thanks to the presence of two X chromosomes, women have more microRNAs, which boost the immune system and reduce the risk of cancer, according to scientists from the University of Ghent. Moreover, girls with congenital hereditary diseases are born less than boys. Many diseases are more common in boys: for example, the same autism is 4 times more likely to be diagnosed in boys.

It is also interesting that the average life expectancy of a woman is several years longer than that of a man.

2. The female hormonal system is extremely interesting.

The hormonal system of a man works "linearly" - every day it produces approximately the same hormones, the number of some of which decreases with age. The hormonal system of a woman is “cyclical” - depending on the day of the menstrual cycle, a woman produces different hormones. It is because of the influence of these hormones that the emotional and physical state of a woman changes during the cycle, and before the onset of menstruation, many women experience the so-called PMS.

It is also interesting that due to the action of the female hormone estrogen, women of reproductive age are less likely to experience cardiovascular diseases, including strokes and heart attacks, than men.

Thanks to the hormone oxytocin, the level of which in women is usually higher than in men, women become more attached to people faster and stronger.

3. The senses in women are more developed

Women have more developed peripheral vision, while men have tunnel vision. In addition, women tend to be better at distinguishing colors than men: according to a study by scientists from New York University, men find it difficult to distinguish between the slightest shades of yellow, green and blue. In other words, if a man and a woman are shown an orange, for the man it will be "more red". According to Professor Israel Abramov, differences in the perception of color by different sexes cannot be explained by differences in the structure of the eye. Apparently, this difference was formed even before the advent of agriculture, when men were engaged in hunting, and women - gathering: as a result, men distinguish fine details of moving objects better, and women distinguish colors better.

A woman's tongue has more taste buds, and a woman can better distinguish different shades of sweet taste.

As for hearing, it is believed that women are better than men can distinguish high-frequency sounds. Moreover, women are usually good at recognizing changes in tone, and therefore know perfectly well when they are being lied to.

4. Women are less oriented in space, but can perform several tasks at the same time

The corpus callosum in a woman's brain is thicker than a man's and contains 30% more connections, making women better at multi-tasking.

But at the same time, women are less able to navigate in space, and because of this, they may have problems while driving. For example, parallel parking is obtained by 82% of men, while about 70% of them can do it on the first try. For women, the results are much worse: only 22% of women succeed in such parking, and only a third of them can do it on the first try.

5. A woman's uterus is incredibly elastic.

A woman's uterus is a small organ about 7.5 cm long and 5 cm wide. During pregnancy, the uterus begins to grow very rapidly: at about the 20th week of pregnancy, the uterus reaches the height of the navel. And on the 36th week, the upper edge of the uterus reaches the lower edge of the chest. Thus, during pregnancy, the uterus increases several tens of times. And soon after giving birth, it shrinks to normal size.

Photos from open sources

Despite the fact that a woman is a mystery, scientific facts about the female body can clarify a lot in trying to solve it.

1. The diameter of women's hair is half that of men's. And this, despite all the efforts of women in hair care, neither hair botox, nor all kinds of masks are able to change genetics.

2. A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.

3 Women blink twice as often as men.

4. A woman's attachment to a man is stronger than a man's to a woman. Therefore, women, as a rule, are more eager to start a family. This is due to increased levels of oxytocin, as well as the fact that women have better developed parts of the brain (ventral putamen, pale nucleus and frontal part of the brain) where long-term attachment is concentrated.

5. Women burn fat more slowly than men - about 50 calories a day.

6. Women have stronger immunity.

7. The corpus callosum in the female brain is thicker than that of men and has 30% more connections. This is why women are better at multitasking.

8. A woman's tongue has more taste buds.

9. Women have more pain receptors, but due to estrogen blocking inflammation, women generally have better pain tolerance.

10. Women distinguish colors better than men, since color discrimination is directly related to the X chromosome.

11. Women's skin is 10 times more sensitive than men's.

12. Women's breasts do not contain muscle tissue.

13. In the muscles and ligaments of women, there is more elastin than collagen, so women are more flexible.

14. Women are much better than men at distinguishing high-pitched sounds.

15. The electrical activity of the female brain during sleep is reduced by only 10%, so women's sleep is more sensitive.

16. Women are better than men at distinguishing shades of sweet taste.

17. Women are worse than men in space. Parallel parking succeeds in 82% of men, in 71% - on the first try. For women, the result is deplorable. Only 22% can do it, 2/3 of them will not do it on the first try.

18. Two brain centers are responsible for speech in women, so a woman can easily pronounce up to 8,000 words a day, use up to 3,000 sounds and up to 10,000 non-verbal signals. The same figures for men are two times lower.

19. From birth, women have a better sense of smell than men.

20. In 80% of women, one breast (usually the left one) is larger than the other.

21. Women have well-developed peripheral vision. In men - tunnel.

22. Women's breasts react to temperature. From heat, it becomes softer, and the nipples increase.

23. The time of the onset of a female orgasm is from 10 to 20 minutes. For men, an average of four minutes is enough.

24. The female neck is more mobile, therefore, when she is called out, she, as a rule, turns her head. A man usually turns his whole body.

25. Baldness is an X-linked recessive trait that men inherit from their mother.

26. Due to the presence of two X chromosomes, complications and chronic diseases are less common in women.

27. Women cry on average 30 to 64 times a year, men - only 6-17 times.

28. 30% of women experience a craving for inedible things during pregnancy.

29. Elevated levels of the hormones progesterone, cortisol and estradiol, especially during ovulation, increase women's feelings of anxiety and insecurity. Therefore, a woman is intuitively better than a man feels threatened.

30. Each kilogram gained by a woman increases the weight of her breasts by 20 grams. There is also an inverse relationship.

No, not teeth

The cells lining the surface of the vagina produce a special moisturizing composition (“lubricant”), consisting of sweat, sebum, mucus, “waste” epithelial cells, urea, acetic and lactic acid, alcohols, ketones and .... squalene! Have you heard of this? Incredible, but true: squalene is produced not only in the vagina of women, but also in the liver of sharks! And now for the fun part: this is the most squalene, derived from shark liver, added to some moisturizers and lotions for a better effect. In addition, studies have shown that squalene protects healthy human cells from the damaging effects of chemotherapy during treatment, without reducing the effectiveness of the drugs themselves.

Useful stuff, right?

2. Women listen with both hemispheres!

A study was conducted in which men and women were read excerpts from works of art and at the same time recorded brain activity. In men, only the left half of the brain was activated (responsible for the perception of oral speech and speech itself), while most women showed activity not only in the left, but also in the right hemisphere (creative and emotional).

Perhaps this explains the fact that women hear much more than was actually said!

3. In photographs, women look younger than men.

And it's not just about hyaluronic acid, Botox and facelift (although they, too, no doubt)! Even though women's skin loses collagen much faster than men's skin as they age, on average, men still look older than their peers. What is the reason? The fact that, on average, the thickness of the skin in men is greater than in women, and therefore wrinkles, pigmentation and other imperfections are more visible in the strong half of humanity. Let's add many years of daily exposure to a razor and lotion on the skin of the face, do not forget about testosterone (which can add oily sheen), and also remember about bald patches and get the result:

yet women are rightfully called the beautiful half of humanity!

4. Menstrual cycle and going to the dentist.

Yes, yes, you need to get your calendars and applications on your phone to control the cycle, not only before going to the gynecologist! "How so?" - you ask. The answer is: an increase in estrogen levels increases the likelihood of the formation of so-called dry sockets in the mouth. What it is? This is a condition in which a blood clot formed after tooth extraction and "covering" the hole leaves its rightful place, exposing the underlying bones and nerve endings. If the dry socket becomes infected, there is pain of incredible intensity. To avoid such torment, do not plan a trip to the dentist for tooth extraction in the first half of the cycle!

The ideal time to visit is the last week of the cycle (days 21-28).

5. Women have a body that is longer than men!

Let's talk about the gastrointestinal tract! Undoubtedly, the general structure is the same in men and women. All have a stomach, liver, gallbladder, small and large intestines. However, one of the departments (the sigmoid colon) is longer in women than in men! In addition, the woman's intestines (its "lower" sections) are in close contact with the reproductive organs (uterus, ovaries, tubes), that is, they have to "huddle" in more cramped circumstances. This explains the fact that a woman's intestines have less room to expand when they are full due to overeating or excessive gas production. That is why women are more likely to experience intestinal discomfort. And this also explains the fact that women spend more time "powdering their nose."

6. Hair "there" never get confused.

And a braid of pubic hair will also fail. Why? It's simple, the hair in the bikini area is updated every 3 weeks, while each hair on the head grows for about 7 years! So even the absence of hair removal during the year will not allow braids to grow.

7. Oh, this beautiful female nose!

Despite the fact that the olfactory receptors do not differ in men and women, women "remember" smells much better. It has been proven that women of reproductive age demonstrate incredible abilities in recognizing familiar smells. For example, if a woman hears the same smell for 1 month, she will be able to smell it later, even if the source of the smell is present in the air at a concentration 1000 times lower than what she is used to (yes, yes, your Husbands don't pretend, they really don't "smell" a baby's dirty diaper as fast as you!). Interestingly, this phenomenon has hormonal roots, as girls before menarche and women in menopause do not have such abilities!

8. It's not I can't drink! These are my enzymes!

Yes, women tolerate alcohol worse than men! And it's not just the weight class.

A woman produces less of the enzyme that breaks down ethyl alcohol.

After the same amount of alcohol, women will, on average, have higher blood alcohol levels than men (even at comparable body weights). In the female body, there is also a smaller volume of fluid (blood plasma, in particular), in which alcohol is “diluted”. And it is for this reason (and for no other reason) that we dance more intensely on the dance floor at night, and in the morning we feel worse than our companions!

9. We are made to cry.

An adult woman cries an average of 5.3 times a month (for comparison, an adult man cries 1.4 times a month, which is amazing in itself!). And this is not only because society treats a crying woman and a crying man differently. There are also biological reasons for this. Firstly, the structure of the lacrimal glands is slightly different in men and women (according to some reports, they are even larger in women); secondly, women have much higher levels of prolactin in the blood, and this hormone affects the development of the lacrimal glands and the production of tears.

So these are not crybaby women, this is nature!

10. What do a vagina and a mountain range have in common?

Due to the influence of estrogens, the vaginal mucosa of women of reproductive age thickens, numerous folds, depressions and ridges form on it, visually similar to mountain ranges. Due to this process, the total area of ​​the vaginal mucosa increases, which is necessary for the production of a sufficient amount of "lubrication", as well as stretching of the mucosa during sex and childbirth. The level of estrogen decreases after childbirth and in menopause, as a result of which the vaginal mucosa thins and “smoothes out”, which can lead to a feeling of dryness and discomfort during sexual intercourse.

No one will argue with the fact that any woman is a mystery. But modern scientific research never ceases to amaze us with new facts about female physiology. Some discoveries are not only amazing, but also quite capable of shocking. You have no idea what the female body is capable of! Here are just some of the facts:

Fact #1: The female brain is smaller but more functional than the male

Men's brains contain four million more cells, but women's test scores are 3% better! It turns out that the corpus callosum, which connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain, is much more developed in women than in men. Therefore, women are able to do many things at the same time, for example, cooking, looking after children, caring for relatives, and so on. A man is “imprisoned” to do only one thing for a certain period of time.

Fact #2: Women's bodies are naturally flexible

All women are genetically more flexible than men. Their ligaments and muscles have more elastin than collagen, since the female body produces much more of the substance hyaluranidase.

Fact #3: Women have excellent immunity

The female sex is completely wrongly considered weak, since the immunity of women is much better than that of men. Two X chromosomes inherent in women make the immune system stronger and reduce the risk of cancer, and the hormone estrogen prevents inflammatory processes in the body. In addition, developed immunity slows down aging - as you know, women live longer.

Fact number 4: Women's sense of smell distinguishes the smell of pheromones

Women have an amazing sense of smell! The nose of a woman is able to catch not only the threatening smell of burning, but also the smell of human pheromones. Moreover, the woman's brain is able to "decipher" the smell of a man, determining the state of his immunity. And this process takes only three seconds!

Fact #5: Women have excellent peripheral vision

Women have excellent peripheral vision. For some of the fair sex, it reaches 180º! That is why women can, without turning their heads, “count” an opponent or follow a child. Men, on the other hand, are distinguished by tunnel vision, they notice only what is in front of them, without being distracted by trifles.

Fact #6: Women are better than men at different colors

The X chromosome is responsible for color perception. Women have two of them, so the palette of colors that they perceive is much wider. This ability was formed even before the advent of agriculture. At that time, men were engaged in hunting, and women were gathering useful plants. Therefore, even today, men are better at distinguishing small details of moving objects (a useful quality for a hunter), and women are better at colors.

Fact #7: Women have more receptors but are less sensitive to pain

A woman's skin is ten times more sensitive than a man's. Even the most sensitive man in this sense falls short of the most insensitive woman. Women also have more taste and pain receptors, but women's sensitivity to pain is lower than men's. This is genetic, otherwise no woman would simply survive childbirth!

Fact #8: A woman's heart beats faster than a man's

The heart of the average woman beats faster than the heart of a man. What it depends on is not known for certain, but the fact is the fact!

Fact #9: Women are able to distinguish high-pitched sounds

Women have such a developed hearing that they are able to distinguish even high-frequency sounds. A girl at the age of only one week can already distinguish her mother's voice from others, and can also hear when another baby cries. In addition, women are excellent at recognizing changes in tone and therefore usually immediately understand when they are being lied to. Another thing is that they do not always want to believe it!

Fact number 10: Toxicosis during pregnancy protects the fetus

According to recent research, morning sickness and headache during pregnancy toxemia are the result of a defense mechanism that protects the fetus from harmful toxins. That is why toxicosis often occurs in the early stages of pregnancy, when the fetus is most vulnerable. In addition, the presence of toxicosis during pregnancy significantly reduces the risk of miscarriage.