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Glite Dictionary
secondary amenorrhea

secondary amenorrhea

8.6
A woman who had regular periods but then does not have them anymore
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛkəndɛri ˌæməˈnɔːrɪə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : amenorrea secundaria
  • Secondary amenorrhea is defined as the absence of menstrual bleeding for 6 months or for a length of time equivalent to at least 3 of the woman's previous menstrual cycle lengths.

Examples

  • If a woman has not had her period for six months, she may be diagnosed with secondary amenorrhea.

  • Secondary amenorrhea can occur after significant stress, resulting in a lack of menstrual periods for months.

  • The definition of secondary amenorrhea is controversial; however, the 6-month time frame is fairly well accepted (Marshall, 1994).

    Academic text (2003)

  • Secondary amenorrhea was observed in 25% of women assigned 12 mg/m² mitoxantrone.

    Academic text (2002)

  • While secondary amenorrhea and pseudopregnancy are potential presentations of lung cancer, there has been only one case report of the same, which was in a young female who had adenocarcinoma of the lung (17).

    Academic text (2007)

  • Many women experience secondary amenorrhea due to hormonal imbalances that require medical evaluation.

Synonyms

amenorrhea
vssecondary amenorrhea
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Lack of menstrual periods in a woman who can become pregnant

is the same absence but occurs after a woman has previously menstruated

Antonyms

menstruation
11 4.1

Monthly bleeding from the womb that happens in women after puberty

Surface Forms

secondary amenorrhea singular
secondary amenorrheas plural

Morphology

secondary + amenorrhea

The meaning is compositionally derived: 'amenorrhea' denotes cessation of menstruation and 'secondary' signals that this cessation occurs after menstruation has previously been established, so the phrase literally means cessation that develops later. The 'primary/secondary' subtype pattern is common in medical and general usage (and across languages), making the term predictable for a learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Secondary amenorrhea combines secondary, meaning 'after a first time', and amenorrhea, a medical word for 'no monthly bleeding'. So secondary amenorrhea means when a woman who used to have periods now 'stops having them'.