Menstruation, periodic discharge from the vagina of blood, secretions, and disintegrating mucous membrane that had lined the uterus. 1  The biological significance of the process in humans can best be explained by reference to the reproductive function in other mammals.
Chlamydial (kla-MID-ee-al) infections are caused by three species of microorganisms. Chlamydia trachomatis can cause eye or lung infections and can also infect the urinary and genital areas of both men and women. Chlamydia pneumoniae causes infections of the respiratory tract, and Chlamydia psittaci causes an illness, known as parrot fever, that is similar to the flu.
Trachoma is caused by certain subtypes of Chlamydia trachomatis, a bacterium that can also cause the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia. Trachoma spreads through contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. Hands, clothing, towels and insects can all be routes for transmission. In developing countries, eye-seeking flies also are a means of transmission.