in vitro fertilization (vē`trō, vĭ`trō), technique for conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body. Several ova ovum , in biology, specialized plant or animal sex cell, also called the egg, or egg cell. It is the female sex cell, or female gamete; the male gamete is the sperm. The study of the ovum is included in the science of embryology.
..... Click the link for more information. , or eggs, are removed from the mother's body and placed in special laboratory culture dishes (Petri dishes); sperm from the father are then added, or in many cases a sperm is injected directly into an ovum, a process known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection. If fertilization is successful, a fertilized ovum (or several fertilized ova), after undergoing several cell divisions, is either transferred to the mother's or a surrogate mother's body for normal development in the uterus, or frozen for later implantation. Eggs also can be frozen and fertilized later.

First developed by Patrick C. Steptoe and Robert G. Edwards of Great Britain (where the first "test-tube baby" was born under their care in 1978), the technique was devised for use in cases of infertility infertility, inability to conceive or carry a child to delivery. The term is usually limited to situations where the couple has had intercourse regularly for one year without using birth control.
..... Click the link for more information. when the woman's fallopian tubes are damaged or the man's sperm count is low. It is also used to enable prospective parents with other reproductive problems (e.g., inability to produce eggs, poor sperm quality, or endometriosis endometriosis , a condition in which small pieces of the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) migrate to other places in the pelvic area. The endometrial fragments may move to the fallopian tubes, ovaries, or other pelvic structures (e.g., the bladder or rectum).
..... Click the link for more information. ) to bear a child, and can be used in conjunction with embryo biopsy embryo biopsy or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), diagnostic procedure, used in genetic screening, in which a single cell is removed from an embryo two or three days after it has been conceived through in vitro fertilization.
..... Click the link for more information. , or preimplantation genetic diagnosis, to enable parents to have a child who is free of some inheritable defects or diseases. In embryo donation (also called embryo adoption), frozen embryos that are not needed by the mother are donated for implantation to a woman or couple who are infertile but wish to have, and are capable of bearing, children. The use of in vitro fertilization has resulted in the birth of more than a million babies. Nevertheless, the technique has raised legal, ethical, and religious issues, including concerns regarding legal custody of frozen embryos following divorce and questions regarding the appropriateness of the procedure posed by the Roman Catholic Church and other institutions.

See also artificial insemination artificial insemination, technique involving the artificial injection of sperm-containing semen from a male into a female to cause pregnancy. Artificial insemination is often used in animals to multiply the possible offspring of a prized animal and for the breeding
..... Click the link for more information. ; fertilization fertilization, in biology, process in the reproduction of both plants and animals, involving the union of two unlike sex cells (gametes), the sperm and the ovum, followed by the joining of their nuclei.
..... Click the link for more information. ; reproductive system reproductive system, in animals, the anatomical organs concerned with production of offspring. In humans and other mammals the female reproductive system produces the female reproductive cells (the eggs, or ova) and contains an organ in which development of the fetus
..... Click the link for more information. ; surrogate mother surrogate mother, a woman who agrees, usually by contract and for a fee, to bear a child for a couple who are childless because the wife is infertile or physically incapable of carrying a developing fetus.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See L. Andrews, The Clone Age (1999); R. M. Henig, Pandora's Baby (2004).

in vitro fertilization (IVF)

or test-tube conception

Procedure, used to overcome infertility, in which eggs are removed from a woman, fertilized with sperm outside the body, and inserted into the uterus of the same or another woman. The first child thus conceived was born in 1978. IVF includes extraction of eggs, collection of sperm, fertilization in culture, and introduction into the uterus at the eight-cell stage. In a successful procedure, the embryo is implanted in the uterine wall, and pregnancy begins. The most common problem is failed implantation. IVF has been a source of moral, ethical, and religious controversy since its development.

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No references found			A Canadian woman gave birth to twins this week at age 60, with the help of in vitro fertilization after decades of dashed hopes for motherhood, public broadcaster CBC said Thursday. Canadian woman, 60, gives birth to twins by AFP / AFP American Edition You may be looking to start a family and have thought of using in vitro fertilization If you have had trouble conceiving, the cost of in vitro fertilization is an important thing to consider You may be looking to start a family and have thought of using in vitro fertilization. The Cost of in Vitro Fertilization by Matty Mathias / Business community 99 Paperback RG135 Henig, author of The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, chronicles the early days of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the ethical and legal battles surrounding it in the 1970's. Pandora's baby; how the first test tube babies sparked the ... by SciTech Book News			IN in antis in band in cavetto In Cold Blood in extremis in hardware in line In Memoriam in phase IN point In Salah in situ in situ combustion in situ concrete in situ foaming in situ hybridization in software in the clear in the cloud in the wild in the wind in utero in vacuo in vitro in vitro fertilization in vivo In'chon in-and-out bond in-band signaling in-band signalling in-band/on-channel in-bank measure in-dash head unit in-dash navigation in-feed centerless grinding in-flight Wi-Fi in-gate in-glaze decoration in-house in-house scrap in-line assembly machine in-line centrifugal fan in-line coding in-line engine in-line equipment in-line guns in-line linkage in-line procedure in-line processing in-line pump			In Virus Tandem In Visual Flight Rules Conditions in vitro in vitro in vitro in vitro In Vitro - In Vivo Correlation In Vitro Antibody Production In Vitro Bleeding Test In Vitro Cell Line Screening Project In Vitro Chemosensitivity Testing in vitro contracture test In Vitro Cultivated Leptospira In Vitro Diagnostic Advisory Committee In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive In Vitro Diagnostic Multivariate Index Assay In vitro diagnostics In Vitro Digestibility In Vitro Digestible Crude Protein In Vitro Digestible Energy In Vitro Drug Sensitivity Assay In Vitro Dry Matter Digestibility In Vitro Dry Matter Disappearance In Vitro Embryo Production In vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilization and embryo replacement In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer In vitro fertilization and tubal embryo transfer In Vitro Fertilization Medium In Vitro Fertilization with Donor Sperm In vitro fertilization with oocyte donation In Vitro Gas Production In Vitro Genetic Toxicity In Vitro Granuloma Formation In Vitro Hemoperfusion In Vitro Hyperdiploidy In Vitro in Vivo Correlation In Vitro Induced Antibody Production In Vitro Infectious Units In Vitro Kindling In Vitro Lymphocyte Responsiveness In Vitro Monocyte Lysozyme Production In Vitro Motility Assay In vitro oocyte maturation followed by in vitro fertilization In Vitro Organ Culture In Vitro Organic Matter Digestibility In Vitro Ovum Nuclear Transplantation In Vitro Release Test In Vitro Screening System