Several things are at work here....

1) Menstruation requires an interaction between the hypothalamus (a gland at the base of the brain), pituitary (another central nervous system gland), and the ovaries/developing eggs. The hypothalamus and pituitary (hereafter called the 'CNS axis') send hormonal signals to the ovaries. In response to those signals, several eggs begin to develop into follicles, which are immature eggs surrounded by several layers of 'support' cells. In a process that is incompletely understood, one of these follicles becomes 'dominant' and begins to secrete hormones on its own. The other follicles are inhibited, leaving (usually) one follicle that develops and is released (ovulation) prior to menstruation. The entire cycle requires the interaction of brain hormones and egg/follicle derived hormones.

2) Menopause does not occur when a woman 'runs out' of egg cells. A female fetus has millions of such cells, most of which will degenerate by the time of birth. A prepubescent female still has hundreds of thousands of the things. During each menstrual cycle, up to a couple dozen follicles may start to develop; in the normal course of things, most will degenerate, leaving only one to mature fully and be released. Still, at the time of menopause, a woman still has thousands of egg cells; they just become unresponsive to the hormonal signals that used to activate them and lead to the entire menstrual cycle. The symptoms of menopause are not caused by a lack of egg cells; rather, they reflect the general change in the body's responsiveness to those hormones that stimulate the ovaries. A correlary to this is that women who take birth control pills for extended periods of time do not 'save' the eggs that would have been released; nor do they delay their menopause for the length of time that they were taking BCP's.

3)If all of Scully's ova were removed or destroyed, she would not have normal menses; under most circumstances this would have been picked up on. However, several possibilities exist:

3a: Not all of Scully's ova were taken, leaving a reserve adequate for normal menstrual function

3b: Scully's implant took over for the missing ova from a hormonal control standpoint

3c: Many women have irregular menstrual cycles; in addition, stress, malnutrition, and other factors can contribute to disruption of the normal menstrual cycle. For all we know, Scully may have been amenorrheic (no monthly cycles) ever since joining the X-files, what with the constant stress. As a result, the loss of her ova may not have been noticed.

3d: Most likely: Being a woman of the 90's, Scully may be taking medication to regulate/control her menstrual cycle ('birth control pills', 'Depo shots', Norplant). All of the above medications will affect the cycle in predictable ways - Norplant and Depo in particular will cause monthly cycles to stop, with occasional unpredictable spot bleeding. So, Scully's lack of ova would be concealed by these methods

WoW! I agree, I think... That has to be the most scientific post ever made here. As far as my knowledge of the human body goes, it all seems to make sense.

An Anti-nit if I may, I thought some of Scully's just some of her eggs were removed. Like when they harvest them for when they do for invetro (Sp?) fertilization.

It's all a little beyond my grasp.

ANP

uhhh...I'm not a doctor, but *I* certainly would have noticed after a couple of
months. And Scully has almost no social life, so I doubt she was on birth control. Plus,
Catholics don't beleive in birth control, do they

Isn't she a lapsed Catholic at the time of her abduction? And shooting people and killing them doesn't seem very Christian does it... her FBI work appears to directly in odds with "Thou shalt not kill".

In the line of duty, Chris, in the line of duty... I don't know what, if any, religon you
are, but my priest served in the Army. And did you ever hear of the Crusades? Not that
I think killing thousands of people 'cause they wouldn't convert was paticularly
Christian, especially since Constaninople was largely Orthodox Christian. (my
religion.)

To quote (or most likely slightly misquote) Phil: "In war, bad things happen." The same, I think, applies to the war on crime practiced in law enforcement and to the war on aliens practiced on "The X-Files". ;-)

To answer the other question asked, devout Catholics have been known to use birth control, in spite of the wishes of the Vatican (my wife, for example). Sometimes it's for medical reasons (irregular menses), sometimes because they just don't want to have kids. Scully, being the hard-nosed rational scientist that she is, may have decided a long time ago that, if she was going to be an unmarried career woman in a dangerous profession, she didn't want to take the risk of getting pregnant.

It does not seem to me that Scully would be a good candidate for the Pill. She has a very irregular schedule and frequently gets taken hostage/captured/abducted. If I am not mistaken, the Pill is supposed to be taken every day at the same time.

What about the "Morning after" pill? Or is that just a myth?

The 'morning after' pill has always reminded me faintly of abortion. I know, I'm
starting to sound Catholic, but we don't go for birth control either, except for
married couples in certain situations. For unweds we go for the truly fail safe birth
control: Abstinence. (Sharon Stone: Shame on yo

Personally, I would think Scully is more of a condom person, what with her medical background. She would be very careful about STDs. I sure hope she was careful during "Never Again."

Getting back to the original subject..what was it again?

My best conjecture is that the enigmatic agent Scully had no idea of what was done to her until recently. Whether she keeps having her "monthly visitor" will remain a mystery to us.

About "Never Again", I was under the impression that Scully and Ed Jerse had merely kissed and that he had slept on the couch while she slept on his bed. Isn't it wonderful that the producers let us draw our own conclusions as to what happened?

Jason: Your post was very helpful to clarify my original question. Now here's a guy with a good attittude toward menstruation! :-) (Let's see who places that reference.)

It's from "The Kids in the Hall." Dave Foley gave a monologue about himself, the guy with a good attitude toward menstruation.

I loved that show.

Thanks for the kind response to my earlier post. Matthew Patterson had mentioned the 'morning-after' pill: this is a real form of _post_ intercourse contraception. A specific type of birth control pill (there are many types, with different hormone formulations) is taken at a higher-than-normal dose for a day or two within 72 hours of intercourse. The big estrogen peak that you get makes the uterus unreceptive to an egg. It does not prevent fertilization. If there was an egg around, fertilized or not, it passes through the uterus and is lost. Whether or not this constitutes 'abortion' is a moral decision that I feel is best left to individuals.

Regarding Sharon Stone's comments: to paraphrase Mark Twain (I think...) 'tis better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt..

Some other, essentially random thoughts:
1) Scully's abduction was a plot device conjured up to cover for Gillian Anderson's pregnancy and delivery. In the first episode in which Scully returns, she is lying on a hospital bed in a coma. Other folks have mentioned that she was more, uh, buxom than previously noted (likely as a result of lactation at the time). Now, prolactin is another CNS hormone secreted by the pituitary, which causes enlargement of the milk glands and promotes milk production. Through another series of hormonal interactions, it also inhibits menstruation! High prolactin levels are usually caused by tumors of the pituitary, which is located at the base of the brain, sort of above the nose and behind the eyes. Scully later develops a ?nasopharyngeal tumor?, which could put it tantalizingly close to the pituitary! Arrgh..I feel like I am two steps away from putting this all together in a brilliant fashion, but I can't remember the details of Scully's tumor. Can anyone provide me with this information?

2) Similarly, I remember hearing someone tell Mulder that Scully's eggs were extracted using a radiation procedure (not the way eggs are stimulated/extracted in the real world, by the way). I also thought that Mulder was told that this had rendered Scully sterile and/or was carcinogenic. Anybody remember this?

3) Another half-formed memory: didn't Mulder find some of Scully's frozen eggs? Or was that her chip implant that I'm remembering?

I'd appreciate any help from folks with episodes on tape...

Yep, he found her ova in some gov. vault somewhere. I can't remember the episode,
though. And according to the fanfic it was a nasopharyngeal tumor; I assume they did
there research. I would check myself, but i can't find my tapes of any of the cancer
eps. (The government took them! Aaahh! Run for your lives, men!) BTW, nice Mark
Twain quote, but were you referring to her or yourself? And are you a doctor, or do
you just have a strange fascination wih all thi

Also, when she's in the "alien" lab being probed in the belly, she's very obviously pregnant.

You mean that inflating stomach thing in Ascension?

Yeah, that

re: Post Abduction Chest

I noticed that, too. I'm not sure if that's a nit or a observation? Sorry to get off subject. Also is the episode where Scully returns "One Breath"? I can't remember!

ByronK

Is it just me, or are you guys obsessed with Scully's chest?! GA was pregnant,
OKAY!!!?? (No, I'm not a feminist, just female.) And, yes, the ep is named One Breath,
and is number 1 on my top twenty list.

ByronK: What you refer to, Phil mentions it in his book It is listed under "Continuity and Production Problems"...also as a "Not a nit, just an observation." It seems the Guild is full of observant viewers.

It makes you wonder why the creators didn't just drape a sheet over Scully during the episode. That is something else Phil mentions.

I must say, when I told my wife that someone on the Internet had complimented me on my 'positive attitude toward menstruation', she had a good laugh...

Still have some questions, though...
1) Did we ever see Mulder give Scully her frozen ova back? Is he keeping them in his freezer or something?

2) What sort of treatments did Scully get for her tumor? I seem to remember some medical scenes in what looked like a radiation therapy suite, but were there ever any specifics quoted?

As for my comment about Sharon Stone: Sharon was the one who I felt should keep her opinions to herself. She has a history of publicizing her personal opinions on medical issues. While I would not interfere with her ability to hold whatever strange medical beliefs she wants, I don't think that she should be held up as some sort of authority on these matters. It's sort of like the aspirin commercial a few years ago that invited people to "Ask Angela Lansbury about buffered aspirin."
Perhaps I should stop before I go too far afield.

Well, if they draped a sheet over Scully then the young male nitpickers would have anything to ogle at.

Also, I haven't been able to find The X-phile guide around here. I continue to wait.

ByronK

Sorry! I meant:
"...wouldn't have anything..."

ByronK

bryon, what general part of what country do you live in? Here in the heartland of the
U.S. of A. it's scarce but findable. You could try ordering it through amazon.com if you
have a credit card.
P.S. If you live in the U.K. could you mail me Diane Duane's newest book To See The
Queen? It's not out in the US yet. :-)

BTW, Jason, you shoulda heard Dr. Laura's diatribe on Sharon Stone's speech. It's
amazing, her command over the English language-- how she can so colorfully describe
Ms. Stone's views without actually swearing... I've noticed she's been doing a lot of
dumb blonde jokes lately.

I live in Northern Montana. Middle of Nowhere.

I might try Amazon.com, I've heard good things about them. Thanks for your concern. Sorry I can't help you with the British Book thing.

ByronK

Poor thing. Poor ME! That's okay. <G>

On the very day that I posted my last message, our local Fox station reran the episode in which NOT ONLY was Scully's tumor and therapy AND egg extraction explained, but Mulder also found her frozen ova with the help of the Lone Gunmen and a bunch of clones. I'm afraid that I don't know the title of the ep, but here's the outline of the action (I tuned in at the halfway point).

--Scully is being treated with chemo and radiation for her nasopharyngeal tumor. The doctor treating her is treating other women afflicted with the same tumor. At least one of the other women has memories of being abducted with Scully. The same doctor also works for an infertility clinic that is a front for experimentaion with clones and human-alien hybridization.
--Through a series of events that I did not see, Mulder comes to investigate this lab, and notices the name of Scully's doc on a nameplate on the wall. While exploring the building with the Lone Gunmen, he comes across a number of clones who show him a room filled with file drawers that contain human ova, apparently harvested from the same women that were being treated for cancer. The clones tell Mulder that the ova were harvested using a 'high amplification radiation procedure that rendered them barren and gave them cancer'. Mulder takes some of Scully's frozen ova.
--Later, we see Mulder offer words of encouragement to Scully in the hospital. As she walks away, he holds the vial of ova in his hand, finally slipping them into his pocket.

So.....
Not all of Scully's ova need have been removed. If the radiation procedure caused her to hyperovulate, at MOST a few dozen ova would have been released, leaving thousands behind. The remaining eggs need not have been destroyed in order to leave her 'barren'; scarring of the fallopian tubes from radiation damage or surgical extraction of eggs could do the same. Therefore Scully could easily have normal menses after her abduction!

Jason: The episode you are referring to is "Memento Mori". A "memento mori" is, as defined in my dictionary, "an object, such as a skull, serving as a reminder of death". It comes from a Latin expression meaning "remember that you must die".

In "Emily", according to Mulder, all of Scully's ova were taken.

I know! I was screaming, "No! No, David! Go to our board-- you have it wrong!!"

About the Catholics in the FBI: I recently read an article about the many religious people (not to mention converts) in the Bureau. Their religion actually helps their efficiency and performance.

In 'Emily', Scully mentions that she recently learned that she was infertile. This is not something that you would normally just happen to "find out" - it requires a fair amount of investigation. Do we know how she came by this knowledge? Perhaps she _was_ experiencing hormonal symptoms after all! Of course, her sterility could have been attributed to her chemotherapy.

Okay, this is from 'The Science Of The X-Files' by Dr. Jeanne Cavelos. She has a
large amount of stuff concerning Scully's abduction, but here's her basic,
scientifically backed-up, theory: First Scully was abducted, and injected with a
superovulating drug. The aliens/Syndicate harvested as many ova as possible, then
irradiated her to produce cancer--rendering her sterile in the process. Then,
they implanted her with what Agent Pendrell describes as a tiny microprocesser.
This, instead of recording her thoughts, sends a signal to another, microscopic
impant, triggering the release of cancer-surpressing medication. This has a
useful sideffect--if your abductee removes the microprocesser, (and is therefore
catching on to you) the subject dies. She goes into further detail involving why
Scully would develop this paticular form of cancer, which is relativly rare, but
it's pretty long. Do you want

In case anyone wants to know... it's also fully possible that Scully if doesn't get her period regularly, she shrugs it off as normal. lots of women don't menstruate due to extreme amounts of stess (and let's face it, being around Mulder all the time is stressful in itself!) It's been accepted that women -- whether anoxeric, obese, stressed-out, or otherwise -- sometimes don't menstruate for two, three, six months, even up to a year, without menopausing.