Are women the only females that have menstuation?

Question

Or does this also happen to any other species?

Answer 1

It seems that female humans and other primates are the ONLY species that go through a "menstrual cycle" or "menstruate". Other mammalian species go through estrus instead. Our domestic animal species (cats, dogs, horses, etc.) do not menstruate.

see the below definitions from www.answers.com:

1. menstruation (mĕn'strū-ā'shən) n.
=The process or an instance of discharging the menses.

2. menses (mĕn'sēz) pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
=The monthly flow of blood and cellular debris from the uterus that begins at puberty in women and the females of other primates. In women, menses ceases at menopause. Also called catamenia. This is periodic sloughing of the uterine lining.

3. estrus
=Period in the sexual cycle of female mammals, except the higher primates, during which they are in heat (ready to accept a male for mating). Some animals (e.g., dogs) have only one heat during a breeding season; others (e.g., ground squirrels) will come into heat repeatedly during the breeding season until impregnated. During estrus the female secretes pheromones that signal her receptivity to the males; her genital area may become swollen, and she may also give behavioral signals.

I hope this provides some accurate clarification

Answer 2

No, all animals that birth live babies grow an 'incubator' lining before each cycle, and then shed that tissue along with all the blood in it after each egg is released and hasn't implanted.

There is good reason for this, the endometrium as it is called is very blood rich and a very good medium for growth - any growth - and if bacteria got in and colonized, it would have a nice, dark, warm place to grow. So for humans, the cycle is about every 28 days - new tissue, new blood supply, and then clean house time!

For wild dogs, it is usually once a year. For our horses and cattle, it is usually once a year as well. But for our dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. - well it can be several times a year. Domesticated dogs don't follow the seasonal cues like wolves do, we have changed them over the centuries so they can have two litters a year.

Any animal that lays an egg and doesn't keep the baby growing inside an organ like the uterus will not menstrate.

Makes you wonder about whales and dolphins, doesn't it? yep, live births, so they menstrate too - so do elephants.

Answer 3

NO! Other Female Animals have menstruation too.

Technically, menstruation refers to the SHEDDING of the uterine lining between ovulations.So to say, any animal with an ability to ovulate has to undergo the menstrual cycle.

In other mammals however, NOT ALL have overt (externally visible) menstruation as female humans do. Many female animals menstruate covertly (externally invisible) reabsorbing the uterine lining after it is shed so that bleeding is not externally visible.

Overt menstruation,similar to women, has been noticed to occur in most non-human primates, in marsupials, tree shrews, flying lemurs, bats, dogs,elephants,horses, etc.

As those female mammals known to menstruate are not all closely related to one another, we can assume that the process is occurring to many female mammals and that nearly all female mammals menstruate in some fashion different from women and different from each other.

(I answered a similar question in anothe category few days ago.)

Answer 4

Technically, menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining between ovulations. Menstruation has been detected in most nonhuman primates, as well as in marsupials, carnivores, insectivores, tree shrews, flying lemurs, bats, and elephants (Profet, 1993). But not all mammals have overt, or externally visible, menstruation as humans do. Many menstruate covertly, reabsorbing the uterine lining after it is shed so that bleeding is not externally visible. Because the mammals we know to menstruate are not all closely related to one another, we assume that the process is widespread, and that nearly all female mammals menstruate in some fashion. -

Answer 5

Menstrual cycles occur exclusively in humans and other apes...The females of other species of placental mammal experience an estrus, in which the endometrium is reabsorbed by the animal at the end of its reproductive cycle.

Answer 6

yeah all mammals that breed have a menstrual cycle. I remember when i was 12 i got a dog and she had a period all over my bed - i felt sick!

Answer 7

No. I had a dog that menstruated when in heat

Answer 8

all mammals have this, well the female ones anyway! :D

Answer 9

No, all females menstrate.

Answer 10

it's not just humans