It is a failure to have periods, which may
be described as primary or secondary . Primary amenorrhoea is the failure to
menstruate by age 16, and the main cause is the late onset of puberty.
A girl may have the other signs of puberty but lack of periods. this may
be a cause of a pituitary tumor, which can be found via a skull X -ray
, or because of cryptomenorrohea, where menstrual bleedings does occur but it
is held inside the vagina by an obstruction such as imperforate
Hymen. The condition may arise because parts of the female reproductive
system are missing. The most common reason for primary amenorrhoea is disruption
of the relationship between the ovaries and the pituitary
gland.
Secondary amenorrhoea occurs when
a woman stops menstruating for 3 months or more after
normal menstrual periods have been established but before the onset of
the Menopause. It may arise as a result of stress, chronic
diseases. Stopping the contraceptive pill, which affects hormone
production in the brain , can cause amenorrhoea for up to a year, and
it may arise after child birth and breast feeding. Failure of ovaries, prompting
a premature menopause before the age of 40, is another cause. Amenorrhoea
is permanent after the menopause or if the uterus is removed in a Hysterectomy
