#at some point you're like. well i'll just read the whole damn textbook and maybe answer some questions. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

screambirdscreaming · 1 month ago

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Menstrual cramps are a form of ischemic pain - caused by a lack of oxygen to tissues, a similar mechanism to the cramps you get in your legs or side if you exercise too hard without warming up.

Which has always baffled me - the uterus should have an excellent blood supply, right? Since it has to provide blood to the fetus during pregnancy. Why is it so prone to loosing oxygenation just by squeezing up?

Anyway I'm reading a gynecology textbook and I just hit this sentence:

"Haemostasis immediately after a birth is accomplished by arterial smooth muscle contraction and compression of vessels by the uterine muscle."

It's on purpose. The uterus has evolved to cut off its own blood supply when it contracts, because this is the mechanism that stops you from bleeding out during childbirth.

The human reproductive system is a goddamn nightmare.

#yes I am reading a gynecology textbook recreationally. that's normal behavior.#it's so damn hard to find any coherent information on any related issue #at some point you're like. well i'll just read the whole damn textbook and maybe answer some questions.#strictly speaking I don't know if this is a *human* reproductive feature or if it's true in mammals generally #but my understanding is that the human placenta is unusually aggressive in its attachment. which leads to many of our issues.#possibly including this one.

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