Menstruating From WHERE?

By Atom Bergstrom

Atom’s Blog

Janice Delaney, Mary Jane Lupton, & Emily Toth (The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation, Second Edition, 1976, 1988) wrote …

“The extremely rare phenomenon vicarious menstruation is a monthly bleeding from a mucous membrane other than the uterus. Most of the cases (70 percent) are supplementary; that is, bleeding occurs along with the regular menstrual flow. The other 30 percent are substitutive; that is, bleeding occurs some place other than the uterus, sometimes even after menopause.”

According to the same source …

“It is tempting to regard the female stigmatics, those saints whose bodies bleed in different spots in imitation of Christ’s wounds, as vicarious menstruators. However, the stigmata of three of the best known (Catherine de Ricci, Marie de Moerl, and Louise Lateau) appeared every Thursday noon through Friday afternoon, not monthly.”

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George M. Gould, M.D., & Walter L. Pyle, M.D. (Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine, 1898) wrote …

“Hemorrhage from the mouth of a vicarious nature has been frequently observed associated with menstrual disorders. The Ephemerides, Meibomius, and Rhodius mention instances. The case of Meibomius was that of an infant, and the case mentioned by Rhodius was associated with hemorrhages from the lungs, umbilicus, thigh, and tooth-cavity. Allport reports the history of a case in which there was recession of the gingival margins and alveolar processes [bony ridges that contain the tooth sockets], the consequence of amenorrhea [absence of menstruation]. Caso has an instance of menstruation from the gums, and there is on record the description of a woman, aged thirty-two, who had bleeding from the throat preceding menstruation; later the menstruation ceased to be regular, and four years previously, after an unfortunate and violent connection, the menses ceased, and the woman soon developed hemorrhoids and hemoptysis [coughing up of blood]. Henry speaks of a woman who menstruated from the mouth; at the necropsy 207 stones were found in the gall-bladder. Krishaber speaks of a case of lingual menstruation at the epoch of menstruation.

“Descriptions of menstruation from the extremities are quite numerous. Pechlin offers an example from the foot; Boerhaave from the skin of the hand; Ephemerides from the knee; Albertus from the foot; Zacutus Lusitanus from the left thumb; Bartholinus a curious instance from the hand; and the Ephemerides another during pregnancy from the ankle.

“Post speaks of a very peculiar case of edema of the arm alternating with the menstrual discharge. Sennert writes of menstruation from the groin associated with hemorrhage from the umbilicus and gums. Moses offers an example of hemorrhage from the umbilicus, doubtless vicarious. Verduc details the history of two cases from the top of the head, and Kerckring cites three similar instances, one of which was associated with hemorrhage from the hand.”
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