Quotes from "Midwifery, Obstetrics, and the Rise of Gynaecology"

"Waldung picked up on Dubois's comment that 'Woman abounds with a great quantity of blood'."

"They believed that, if menstruation did not occur, then t he surplus blood would come out through another orifice, or continue to build up in the body, putting pressure on different organs, until disease or even death resulted."

"Mercado...[helped] a virgin who, through no fault of her own, has a wide vaginal opening."

"Common to many [treatises on women] was the idea that women are wetter than men, and that this is turn results from the flesh throughout their bodies being of a softer and more spongy texture, absorbing more fluid from their diet. Glands 16 explains that women's bodies retain moisture because they are loose-textured, spongy, and like wool."