MENSTRUATION CONTINUES TO be an uncomfortable topic of discussion today, especially in relatively conservative parts of the world. Akin to a terribly misunderstood lady, the truth about menstruation has long been enshrouded by unfounded conjectures.
In fact, Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist and philosopher, first described menstruation as a catastrophic existence in Natural History, immortalised in one of the earliest and most comprehensive encyclopaedias published in AD 77-79:
