Glossary for Menopause
Frequently Used Terms

Androgens: Sex hormones found naturally in a woman's body, which is produced by the ovaries, adrenal glands and other tissues. Androgens play a key role in regulating certain bodily functions, including the growth spurt at puberty. It is believed to regulate the function of many organs, including the reproductive tract, kidneys, liver and muscles. During menopause, androgen levels drop by more than 50 percent, which can result in, among other things, a decreased sex drive. Increased doses of androgen also can promote male characteristics, such as hair formation and a deepening voice.

Bio-identical hormones: Hormones identical to those produced by the human ovary. For estrogen, it's 17-beta-estradiol. For progestogen (needed for women with a uterus who use estrogen to protect the uterus), it's progesterone.

Bone density: Refers to the density and strength of bones.

Bone Mineral Density test (BMD): A simple, non-invasive medical test that uses special equipment to predict if your bones are at risk for fracture and to monitor the effects of treatment if the test is conducted at intervals of a year or more.

Calcium: A naturally occurring mineral that is essential to bone health and thought to greatly reduce PMS symptoms.

Coronary Heart Disease: A disease of the blood vessels of the heart that, if untreated, can cause heart attacks. Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients that are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. When these arteries become narrowed or clogged by atherosclerosis and cannot supply enough blood to the heart, the result is coronary heart disease.

Estrogen: A hormone that promotes the development and maintenance of female sex characteristics.

Estrogen therapy (ET): The hormone estrogen, usually taken as a pill, skin patch and now a gel, to relieve menopausal symptoms generally in women without a uterus. Estrogen can benefit bone health by reducing bone loss and increasing bone density.
Follicle: Cell structure within the ovary that contain an egg.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH): A simple blood test measuring follicle stimulating hormone to help diagnose menopause.

Hormones: The body's chemical messengers. Estrogen and progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) are the main hormones involved in the reproductive process.
Mammogram: X-ray screening for diagnosis of breast problems, including cancer.

Menopause: When a woman's monthly menstrual periods end permanently, signifying the end of her childbearing years. Although the average age for menopause in the United States is 51, some women experience menopause earlier due to natural causes or following surgery,

Menopausal Hormone Therapy: See Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy.

Menstrual Migraine: Headaches that occur around the time of the menstrual period, and which may disappear during pregnancy. Other women develop migraine for the first time when they are pregnant. Some are first affected after menopause.

Osteoporosis: A preventable and often treatable disease that thins and weakens your bones, making them fragile and more likely to break. It is sometimes called a "silent disease" because it can occur gradually over many years without your knowledge. Often the very first symptom of osteoporosis is a broken bone, or fracture. Fractures due to osteoporosis usually occur at the hip, spine, or wrist. The vast majority of people with osteoporosis are women. As many as eight million American women have osteoporosis, and another 13 to 17 million have low bone density or bone mass at the pelvis or hip, putting them at risk for developing serious fractures.

Ovaries: The pair of female reproductive glands in which the ova, or eggs, are formed. The ovaries are located in the lower abdomen, one on each side of the uterus. These 1 1/2 inch long, walnut-shaped organs also release hormones that help to control the menstrual cycle.

Pap smear: A test in which cells are scraped off the cervix and examined for abnormalities; used to detect changes that might precede cervical cancer and to diagnose some infections such as herpes simplex.

Perimenopause: The time before menopause, usually beginning three to five years before the final period.

Pituitary: A gland which secretes the hormones involved with ovulation.

Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy or Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy (commonly referred to as HT): A combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin used to relieve menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness, by keeping estrogen circulating in a woman's body after menopause.

Postmenopause: Refers to when a woman has not had a menstrual period for more than 12 months and absence of menstrual periods cannot be attributed to any medical condition.

Progesterone: Produced by the ovaries, rising levels of this hormone signal the body to prepare the uterus with a lining of tissue in preparation for a fertilized egg. If no egg is fertilized, levels of this hormone fall, signaling the body to shed the lining and menstruation to take place.

Progestin: A synthetic hormone that mimics the body's progesterone. A progestin is usually included in an oral birth control pill and in post-menopausal hormone therapy to prevent endometrial cancer.

Progestogen: A synthetic or natural version of the hormone progesterone.
Testosterone: One of the androgen hormones, mistakenly thought of as only a male sex hormone. Androgen also is natural to the female body, where it is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands and other tissues. There are four types of androgens, the most common being testosterone.

Transdermal Delivery: A method of giving a pharmaceutical product that allows it to be absorbed directly through the skin into the bloodstream without first passing through the intestinal system and liver. Supplied either in a patch or gel form.

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