Quite simply, a menstrual cycle means the body produces an ovum, the ovum detaches and if it is not fertilized by sperm, it is rinsed from the body when you have your period. The ovum is produced and matures in one of your ovaries and then travels through your fallopian tube to your uterus. The time between when the ovum leaves the ovary until it is rinsed out of your body as blood is about 2 weeks. About one week after your period a new ovum detaches from an ovary and a new cycle begins. A menstrual cycle is between 26 and 35 days, even though some women have longer cycles, others shorter. The first years after you get your first period, your menstrual cycle will be very irregular.