Main description:

Established as a definitive reference for the IVF clinic, the fifth edition has been extensively revised, with the addition of several important new contributions on laboratory topics, including advanced sperm selection techniques for ICSI, human embryo biopsy procedures, oocyte activation, managing an oocyte bank, artificial gametes, and epigenetics. As previously, methods, protocols, and techniques of choice are presented by IVF pioneers and eminent international experts.

Contents:

Contents. List of contributors.The beginnings of human in vitro fertilization. Robert Edwards and the thorny path to the birth of Louise Brown: A history of IVF and ET. New guidelines for setting up an ART laboratory. Quality control: Maintaining stability in the laboratory. The ART laboratory: Current standards. Evaluation of sperm. Sperm preparation techniques. Sperm chromatin assessment. Oocyte retrieval and selection. Preparation and evaluation of oocytes for ICSI. Advanced sperm selection techniques for ICSI. Use of In Vitro Maturation in a clinical setting: Patient populations and outcomes. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection: Technical aspects. Assisted hatching. Human embryo biopsy procedures. Assisted oocyte activation (AOA): Current understanding, practice, and future perspectives. Analysis of fertilization. Culture systems for the human embryo. Evaluation of embryo quality: Analysis of morphology and physiology. Evaluation of embryo quality: Time-lapse imaging to assess embryo morphokinesis. Evaluation of embryo quality: Proteomic strategies. The human oocyte: Controlled rate cooling. The human oocyte: Vitrification. The human embryo: Slow freezing. The human embryo: Vitrifiation. Managing an oocyte bank. Severe male factor: Genetic consequences and recommendations for genetic testing. Polar body biopsy and its clinical application. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for infertility. Genetic analysis of the embryo. Diagnosis of endometrial receptivity and the embryo-endometrial dialogue. Artificial gametes: the oocyte. Microfluidics in ART: Towards automation of the IVF laboratory. Epigenetic considerations in preimplantation mammalian embryos. Index