ANT220H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Female Genital Mutilation, Premenstrual Syndrome, Testicular Cancer
Document Summary
Womens health is often defined in terms of reproductive health. Hotflashes are seen as a pathogen of menopause that needs to be treated my a biomedical practitioner. The female egg is considered passive, while the male egg is considered fast strong and on a mission. Humans are different in that the times when they are most fertile is not physically visible. Endometrium becomes thicker, the egg follicle enlarges and then releases the ovum at ovulation. In most mammals the tissue and vasculature that supported it are reabsorbed without external bleeding, however among humans about one thir the endometrial tissue and blood is shed during menses. Three hypostheses: defense against pathogens carried on sperm, menstral blood is filled with immune cells. Anthropologists have been interested in pms from the perspective of whether that is actually a culture-bound syndrome unique to some western cultures, orwhether it is found universally and closely ties to the hormonal shifts associated with the menstrual cycle.
