In Vitro Fertilization Glossary of Terms

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Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness. A general anesthetic puts the person to sleep. A local anesthetic causes loss of feeling in a part of the body such as a tooth or an area of skin without affecting consciousness. Regional anesthesia numbs a larger part of the body such as a leg or arm, also without affecting consciousness. The term "conduction anesthesia" encompasses both local and regional anesthetic techniques. Many surgical procedures can be done with conduction anesthesia without significant pain. In many situations, such as a C-section, conduction anesthesia is safer and therefore preferable to general anesthesia. However, there are also many types of surgery in which general anesthesia is clearly appropriate.

Artificial insemination: A procedure in which a fine catheter (tube) is inserted through the cervix (the natural opening of the uterus) into the uterus (the womb) to deposit a sperm sample directly into the uterus. The purpose of this relatively simple procedure is to achieve fertilization and pregnancy. Artificial insemination is also called intrauterine insemination (IUI).

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis. (Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of chromosomes or genes.)
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Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent pregnancy from occurring in a sexually active woman. Also referred to as family planning, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, or contraception; birth control methods are designed either to prevent fertilization of an egg or implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus.
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Catheter: A thin, flexible tube. For example, a catheter placed in a vein provides a pathway for giving drugs, nutrients, fluids, or blood products. Samples of blood can also be withdrawn through the catheter.
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Cell: The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane.
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Cervix: The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus, a hollow, pear-shaped organ, is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between the bladder and the rectum. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina, which leads to the outside of the body.

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically kills microbes or tumor cells. The term chemotherapy was coined in this regard by Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).
2. In oncology, drug therapy for cancer. Also called "chemo" for short.
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Cryopreservation: The process of cooling and storing cells, tissues, or organs at very low temperatures to maintain viability. For example, the technology of cooling and storing cells at a temperature below the freezing point (-196 C) permits high rates of survivability upon thawing. In Greek "kryos" = cold. Cryopreservation is cold storage for the purpose of preservation.

Dissection: The process of cutting apart or separating tissue as, for example, in the study of anatomy or in the course of a surgical procedure.

Donor: The giver of a tissue or organ, for example, of blood or a kidney.

Ectopic: In the wrong place. Out of place. An ectopic kidney, for example, is one that is not in the usual location.
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Ectopic pregnancy: A pregnancy that is not in the uterus. The fertilized egg settles and grows in any location other than the inner lining of the uterus. The large majority (95%) of ectopic pregnancies occur in the Fallopian tube. However, they can occur in other locations, such as the ovary, cervix, and abdominal cavity.
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Egg donor: A woman who provides her own eggs for another woman or couple to use in creating a pregnancy through in vitro fertilization. Egg donors may be paid for their services, and both known and anonymous egg donors may be used in the IVF process. For a woman to serve as an egg donor, she must undergo health screening tests and take medications to stimulate the production of eggs by her ovaries. She must also undergo a minor surgical procedure known as egg retrieval in order to harvest the eggs from her ovaries.

Embryo: The organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation from fertilization to, in humans, the beginning of the third month of pregnancy. After that point in time, it is termed a fetus.

Endocrinology: The study of hormones, their receptors, the intracellular signalling pathways they invoke, and the diseases and conditions associated with them.
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Endometriosis: The presence of tissue that normally grows inside the uterus (womb) in an abnormal anatomical location. Endometriosis is very common and may not produce symptoms, or it may lead to painful menstruation. It has also been associated with infertility. Endometriosis occurs most commonly within the Fallopian tubes and on the outside of the tubes and ovaries, the outer surface of the uterus and intestines, and anywhere on the surface of the pelvic cavity. It can also be found, less often, on the surface of the liver, in old surgery scars or, very rarely, in the lung or brain.
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Estrogen: Estrogen is a female hormone produced by the ovaries. Estrogen deficiency can lead to osteoporosis.
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Fallopian tube: One of the two Fallopian tubes that transport the egg from the ovary to the uterus (the womb). In the diagram, the Fallopian tubes are not labeled but are well shown running between the uterus and ovaries.

Fertility: The ability to conceive and have children, the ability to become pregnant through normal sexual activity. Infertility is defined as the failure to conceive after a year of regular intercourse without contraception.
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Fertilization: Fertilization is the process of combining the male gamete, or "sperm," with the female gamete, or "ovum." The product of this combination is a cell called a zygote.

Gamete: The sperm or the egg. Each human gamete normally has 23 chromosomes, the haploid number of chromosomes, half the number of chromosomes contained in most types of cells in the body.

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic information.

Genetic disease: A disease caused by an abnormality in an individual's genome.
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Genetics: The scientific study of heredity. Genetics pertains to humans and all other organisms. So, for example, there is human genetics, mouse genetics, fruitfly genetics, etc.
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Gynecology: The branch of medicine particularly concerned with the health of the female organs of reproduction and diseases thereof.
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Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs.
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ICSI: Stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a test-tube fertilization procedure in which a sperm is injected directly into an egg to achieve fertilization. ICSI is done for male infertility.
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Implant: 1. To embed; to set in firmly. In embryology, the fertilized egg implants in the uterine lining 6 or 7 days after conception (fertilization). In medicine today, many things may be implanted.
2. That which is embedded. For example: lens implants, breast implants, cochlear implants, defibrillator implants, pacemaker implants, etc.

Implantation: The act of setting in firmly.
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In vitro: Literally in glass, as in a test tube. A test that is performed in vitro is one that is done in glass or plastic vessels in the laboratory.
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In vitro fertilization: IVF, a laboratory procedure in which sperm are placed with an unfertilized egg in a Petri dish to achieve fertilization. The embryo is then transferred into the uterus to begin a pregnancy or cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. IVF was originally devised to permit women with damaged or absent Fallopian tubes to have a baby. Normally a mature egg is released from the ovary (ovulated), then enters the Fallopian tube, and waits in the neck of the tube for a sperm to fertilize it. With defective Fallopian tubes, this is not possible. The first IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born in England in 1978.
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Infertile: Not able to conceive after a year of regular intercourse without contraception.
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Infertility: The diminished ability or the inability to conceive and have offspring. Infertility is also defined in specific terms as the failure to conceive after a year of regular intercourse without contraception.
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Insemination: The deposition of semen in the female reproductive tract. Under normal circumstances, the deposit is made within the vagina or the cervix (the opening to the uterus). By artificial means (such as intrauterine insemination), the deposit can be made directly into the uterus. The word "insemination" comes from "in," + "semen," seed.

Intrafallopian: A term meaning "within the fallopian tube." There are two fallopian tubes in female mammals, including human females. These tubes are also called oviducts. They serve as passageways connecting the egg-producing ovaries to the uterus (womb) in the pelvis.
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IVF: In vitro fertilization, a laboratory procedure in which sperm are placed with an unfertilized egg in a Petri dish to achieve fertilization. The embryo is then transferred into the uterus to begin a pregnancy or cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. IVF was originally devised to permit women with damaged or absent Fallopian tubes to have a baby. Normally a mature egg is released from the ovary (ovulated), then enters the Fallopian tube, and waits in the neck of the tube for a sperm to fertilize it. With defective Fallopian tubes, this is not possible. The first IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born in England in 1978.
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Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."

Laparoscopic: 1. Pertaining to the procedure of laparoscopy.
2. Pertaining to a laparoscope, the instrument by which laparoscopy is done.
3. Performed by laparoscopy.
4. Performed with a laparoscope.
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Louise Brown: See: Brown, Louise.

Obstetrics: The art and science of managing pregnancy, labor and the puerperium (the time after delivery).

Ovary: The female gonad, the ovary is one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries produce eggs (ova) and female hormones. During each monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a fallopian tube to the uterus. The ovaries are the main source of female hormones, which control the development of female body characteristics, such as the breasts, body shape, and body hair. They also regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

Pharmacy: A location where prescription drugs are sold. A pharmacy is, by law, constantly supervised by a licensed pharmacist.

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. This condition can be indicated by positive results on an over-the-counter urine test, and confirmed through a blood test, ultrasound, detection of fetal heartbeat, or an X-ray. Pregnancy lasts for about nine months, measured from the date of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). It is conventionally divided into three trimesters, each roughly three months long.
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Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.
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Recipient: In medicine, a recipient is someone who receives something like a blood transfusion or an organ transplant. The recipient is beholden to the donor.

Reproduction: The production of offspring. Reproduction need not be sexual. Yeast can reproduce by budding.

Semen: The fluid that is released through the penis during orgasm. Semen is made up of fluid and of sperm. The fluid comes from the prostate, seminal vesicle and other sex glands. The sperm are manufactured in the testicles. The seminal fluid helps transport the sperm during orgasm. Seminal fluid contains sugar as an energy source for sperm.
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Sperm: A sperm is the male "gamete" or sex cell. It combines with the female "gamete," called an ovum, to form a zygote. The formation process is called "fertilization." (see ovum, zygote).

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The definition of a "surgeon" has begun to blur in recent years as surgeons have begun to minimize the cutting, employ new technologies that are "minimally invasive," use scopes, etc.
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Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Tubes: The "tubes" are medically known as the Fallopian tubes. There are two Fallopian tubes, one on each side, which transport the egg from the ovary to the uterus (the womb). The Fallopian tubes have small hair-like projections called cilia on the cells of the lining.
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Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultrasound waves can be bounced off of tissues using special devices. The echoes are then converted into a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging, referred to as ultrasonography, allows physicians and patients to get an inside view of soft tissues and body cavities, without using invasive techniques. Ultrasound is often used to examine a fetus during pregnancy. There is no convincing evidence for any danger from ultrasound during pregnancy.

Uterus: The uterus (womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.

Vagina: The muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is usually six to seven inches in length, and its walls are lined with mucus membrane. It includes two vaultlike structures, the anterior (front) vaginal fornix and the posterior (rear) vaginal fornix. The cervix protrudes slightly into the vagina, and it is through a tiny hole in the cervix (the os) that sperm make their way toward the internal reproductive organs. The vagina also includes numerous tiny glands that make vaginal secretions.
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Womb: The womb (uterus) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.

ZIFT: Stands for zygote intrafallopian transfer, a method used to treat infertility in which an egg fertilized in vitro (outside the body) is placed into a woman's fallopian tube. This technique is one used to overcome infertility, the inability of couples to produce offspring on their own.
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Zona: 1. A synonym for shingles. 2. Any zone or encircling area. 3. Any area with a specific boundary.
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Zygote: The cell formed by the union of a male sex cell (a sperm) and a female sex cell (an ovum). The zygote develops into the embryo following the instruction encoded in its genetic material, the DNA.
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