Ultrastructure of gametes and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: the significance of sperm morphology

Ultrastructure of gametes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

The ultrastructure of 18 metaphase-II oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was analysed from 30 min to 8 h following the microinjection. Three control metaphase-II oocytes were not injected. The 21 oocytes were embedded individually and examined in serial pole-to-pole sections. Seventeen oocytes had been matured in vitro from the germinal vesicle stage and showed ultrastructura...

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is an assisted reproductive technique [4] (ART) initially developed by Dr. Gianpiero D. Palermo [5] in 1993 to treat male infertility [6]. It is most commonly used in conjunction with in vitro [7] fertilization [8] (IVF) or a less commonly used technique called zygote intrafallopian transfer [9] (ZIFT). In natural fertilization [8], the sperm [10] must pe...

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

IVF has become a well-established treatment for certain types of infertility, including long-standing infertility due to tubal disease, endometriosis, unexplained infertility or infertility involving a male factor. Soon it became clear that certain couples with severe male-factor infertility could not be helped by conventional IVF. Extremely low sperm counts, impaired motility and/or abnormal m...

Endometriosis Affects Oocyte Morphology in Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Cycles?

OBJECTIVE To identify associations between presence of endometriosis and oocyte defects, embryo developmental potential, and cycle outcomes. METHODS This study looked into the impact of endometriosis on oocyte and embryo quality, and blastocyst formation probability. Endometriosis was also correlated with cycle characteristics. In order to avoid age-related bias, in the first analysis only pa...