On the Faroe Islands it is said
that menstruation is frequently absent. Among the Samoyeds, Mantegazza
mentions that menstruation is so slight that some travelers have denied
its existence. Azara noted among the Guaranis of Paraguay that
menstruation was not only slight in amount, but the periods were separated
by long intervals. Among the Indians in North America, again, menstruation
appears to be scanty. Thus, Holder, speaking of his experience with the
Crow Indians of Montana, says: "I am quite sure that full-blood Indians in
this latitude do not menstruate so freely as white women, not usually
exceeding three days."[86] Among the naked women of Tierra del Fuego, it
is said that there is often no physical sign of the menses for six months
at a time. These observations are noteworthy, though they clearly
indicate, on the whole, that primitiveness in race is a very powerless
factor without a cold climate. On the other hand, again, there is some
reason to suppose that in Europe there is a latent tendency in some women
for the menstrual cycle to split up further into two cycles, by the
appearance of a latent minor climax in the middle of the monthly interval.
I allude to the phenomenon usually called _Mittelschmerz_, middle period,
or intermenstrual pain.
Since the investigations of Goodman, Stephenson, Van Ott, Reinl,
Jacobi, and others, it has been generally recognized that
menstruation is a continuous process, the flow being merely the
climax of a menstrual cycle, a physiological wave which is in
constant flux or reflux.
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