About Us | Privacy | Site Map

Women's Health

Find out what women really need.

Are You Depressed? Take the Quiz


Acromegaly FAQs

Amenorrhea Overview

Amenorrhea is the absence of menstrual bleeding and may be primary or secondary.

  • Primary amenorrhea is the absence of menstrual bleeding and secondary sexual characteristics (for example, breast development and pubic hair) in a girl by age 14 years or the absence of menstrual bleeding with normal development of secondary sexual characteristics in a girl by age 16 years.
  • Secondary amenorrhea is the absence of menstrual bleeding in a woman who had been menstruating but later stops menstruating for 3 or more months in the absence of pregnancy, lactation (the ability to breastfeed), cycle suppression with systemic hormonal contraceptive (birth control) pills, or menopause.
For a woman to have regular menstrual cycles, her hypothalamus, pituitary gland (see Anatomy of the Endocrine System), ovaries, and uterus should all be functioning normally. The hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland to relea...

Read the Amenorrhea article »



Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Acromegaly »

Increased and unregulated growth hormone (GH) production, usually caused by a GH-secreting pituitary tumor (somatotroph tumor), characterizes acromegaly.

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary