Vagina MuseumMar 10
Pain during ovulation is called Mittelschmerz - literally, "middle pain". Having a bit of pain mid-cycle is pretty normal, although if it's so serious it interferes with your day, it might indicate there's something wrong and you need to see a doctor. Here's why many of us feel pain at ovulation...
Show threadVagina MuseumMar 10

Sometimes Mittelschmerz is experienced as a short, sharp burst of pain. When this happens, it's because the ovarian follicle doesn't come with a handy escape hatch for the egg. Instead, the egg just fucking bursts out of there like the Kool-Aid man.

Pain from the egg bursting out is pretty short-lived, though can be quite intense. Sometimes you might experience the pain as definitively to one side or the other, depending on which ovary.

Show threadVagina MuseumMar 10

And sometimes Mittelschmerz is experienced more as a duller pain that goes on for a few hours. You might imagine that the egg just whizzes down the uterine tube like a helter-skelter. This is not, in fact, how it works. The tube squeezes that egg down like a tube of toothpaste.

It's this squeezing action (peristalsis) which might be experienced as the dull, aching pain around ovulation.

Show threadVagina MuseumMar 10
If we look at a real ovary and tube, we can see some signs of all this action going on. First, if we look at the surface of the ovary (the rounded, paler part), we can see little scars all over the surface. Each little scar is caused by an egg bursting out of there.
Show threadGender David CopperfieldMar 10
@vagina_museum this is bullshit. Someone should redesign this. Worst part of the human design. It shouldn't be nearly that dramatic just to lay an absolutely microscopic egg. 0/10 for the yeeterus.
Show threadA cool crab wearing shades
@old_angry_queer @vagina_museum Real 5 PM on a friday design quality
Mar 10 at 3:46pmWeb