Medically Assisted Conception

Presents a study by a committee of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council's Board on Agriculture that examined the scientific foundations of medically assisted conception. This volume discusses barriers to progress in research and ways of lowering them, and explains the scientific issues important to ethical decision making.

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This book results from a study by a committee of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council's Board on Agriculture. The committee examined the scientific foundations of medically assisted conception and developed an agenda for basic research in reproductive and developmental biology that would contribute to advances in the clinical and agricultural practice of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. The volume also discusses some barriers to progress in research and ways of lowering them, and explains the scientific issues important to ethical decision making.


Table of Contents


Front Matter
Summary/Scope of the Study
I. In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer and Social Concerns
II. Advances in the Practive and Science Base of Medically Assisted
Conception
III. Barriers to Progress in In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo
Transfer
IV. Research Agenda and Recommendations
Appendix A: Papers Presented at Workshop
Technologies for Assisted Conception/Embryo Transfer in
Agricultural and Veterinary Practice
Ovarian Stimulation in Non-Human Primates
Responses to Gonadotropins in Domestic Animals
Membrane Models: Evolution From the Fluid-Mosaic Standby
Mammalian Oocyte Maturation: Mechanisms for Regulation and
Prospects for Practical Application of In Vitro Technology
Intragonadal Control of Testis Function
Paracrine Regulation in the Ovary
Experimental Approaches to the Study of Early Developmental Failure
in Human Reproduction
The Fertilizing Sperm: Structure, Maturation and Function
Molecular Events Pre- and Post-Fertilization of Mouse Eggs: Oocyte
Maturation, Egg Activation, and Polyspermy Block
Glycolytic Pathway in Preimplantation Mammalian Embryos
Regulative Potential of Micromanipulated Embryos
Uterine Receptivity, Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy and Early
Embryonic Loss
Towards a Cellular and Molecular Understanding of Implantation in
the Human: Implications for Assisted Reproductive Technologies