Menopause is the complete shutting own of the female reproductive system. The word menopause literally means the permanent physiological, or natural, cessation of menstrual cycles, from the Greek roots 'meno' (month) and 'pausis' (a pause, a cessation). In other words, this is the natural and permanent stopping of the monthly female reproductive cycles, and in human females this is usually indicated by a permanent absence of monthly periods or menstruation.