Menopause literally means the "end of monthly cycles" (the end of monthly periods aka menstruation), from the Greek word pausis (cessation) and the root men- (month). Menopause is an event that typically (but not always) occurs in women in midlife, during their late 40s or early 50s, and it signals the end of the fertile phase of a woman's life. However, rather than being defined by the state of the uterus and the absence of menstrual flow, menopause is more accurately defined as the permanent … [Read more...]