If we investigate in the dictionary, we will see that the word Climacteric comes from the Greek Klimater, which means step and describes a period of transition that lasts for years, before and after menopause, as a consequence of ovarian exhaustion, associated with a decrease in the production of estrogen in which the ovary loses over years the ability to produce hormones, follicles and oocytes. In women, it is often confused with menopause, which is the last menstruation.

During the climacteric the chain of processes that, from the month following puberty, have prepared the woman for pregnancy ends. By the beginning of the climacteric all the ovarian follicles have been used and the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle are not produced.