Menstrual blood smells fishy

Women's monthly menstrual period is regular, that is, the arrival of menstruation. Some women have it once every 28 days, some once every 30 days, and some have it for three days each time, and some for up to seven days. In short, the menstrual situation varies depending on individual differences. However, many women do not understand how menstruation comes about. Some think that menstrual blood is waste in the body. This is a misunderstanding. Menstruation has a lot to do with the shedding of the endometrium.

It is not dirt in the body, but the shedding bleeding of the endometrium, mixed with shed endometrial debris. When it flows out of the uterine cavity, it is mixed with cervical gland secretions, shed conductive epithelial cells, and parasitic bacteria in the vagina.

About every month, the endometrium undergoes a cyclical change of autonomous thickening, blood vessel proliferation, glandular growth and secretion, and endometrial collapse and shedding accompanied by bleeding. This periodic vaginal discharge or uterine bleeding is called menstruation. The menstrual cycle is regulated by the interaction between reproductive hormones from the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and ovaries. The following changes occur during the menstrual cycle:

① After women reach puberty, under the control of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the hypothalamus, the anterior pituitary gland secretes follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and a small amount of luteinizing hormone (LH), which promote the maturation of follicles in the ovaries and begin to secrete estrogen. Under the influence of estrogen, the uterine periosteum undergoes proliferative changes;

② As the follicles mature, the secretion of estrogen also increases gradually. When it reaches a certain concentration, it promotes the anterior pituitary to increase the secretion of gonadotropin through positive feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitary, and the increase in LH secretion is more obvious, forming a peak of luteinizing hormone release, which causes the mature follicle to ovulate;

③ Under the action of luteinizing hormone, the ovulatory follicle forms a corpus luteum and secretes estrogen and progesterone. During this period, the endometrium, mainly under the action of progesterone, accelerates its growth and functional differentiation, and transforms into the secretory endometrium; ④ Because the corpus luteum secretes a large amount of estrogen and progesterone, the concentrations of these two hormones in the blood increase, which inhibits the hypothalamus and pituitary gland through negative feedback, causing the pituitary gland to secrete less follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, and the corpus luteum atrophies, so that progesterone and estrogen also decrease rapidly. The endometrium suddenly loses the support of these two sex hormones, collapses and bleeds, the endometrium falls off, and menstruation occurs.