AUTHOR=Bellofiore Nadia , McKenna Jarrod , Ellery Stacey , Temple-Smith Peter TITLE=The Spiny MouseāA Menstruating Rodent to Build a Bridge From Bench to Bedside JOURNAL=Frontiers in Reproductive Health VOLUME=3 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/reproductive-health/articles/10.3389/frph.2021.784578 DOI=10.3389/frph.2021.784578 ISSN=2673-3153 ABSTRACT=
Menstruation, the cyclical breakdown of the uterine lining, is arguably one of evolution's most mysterious reproductive strategies. The complexity and rarity of menstruation within the animal kingdom is undoubtedly a leading contributor to our current lack of understanding about menstrual function and disorders. In particular, the molecular and environmental mechanisms that drive menstrual and fertility dysregulation remain ambiguous, owing to the restricted opportunities to study menstruation and model menstrual disorders in species outside the primates. The recent discovery of naturally occurring menstruation in the Egyptian spiny mouse (