The Organon Symposia have actually become a tradition, keeping up with exciting developments in reproductive medicine. The purpose of this symposium on "Fertiliza tion of the Human Egg in Vitro" was to bring together the stilllimited number of elinical specialists in the field and to stimulate another group of basic research people to exchange their experiences and knowledge, hopefully promoting elose cooperation between the two groups. It was a kind of scientific "first" that all research teams so far successful in achieving the birth of a healthy baby, fertilized in vitro came together at a workshop conference without a large audience of spectators and reporters, but with a small number of highly critical colleagues from the fields of basic reproductive physiology and comparative developmental biology. This atmosphere allowed for the elose exchange of results, hypotheses, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, criticism, and respect, and created very productive discussions, all of which furthered the aim of the method: To help more childless couples to have their own babies by the ultima ratio procedure of in vitro fertilization and embryo replacement. The book that has emerged from this symposium will help to disseminate the great amount of information and experience gathered among the scientifically and clinically interested colleagues of many other hospitals and universities who could not be invited to the meeting. At the same time, it will prove that there is much more work to be done in the basic and clinical sciences of human embryology and reproductive biology.

Welcomed as liberation and dismissed as exploitation, egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) has rapidly become one of the most widely-discussed and influential new reproductive technologies of this century. In Freezing Fertility, Lucy van de Wiel takes us inside the world of fertility preservation—with its egg freezing parties, contested age limits, proactive anticipations and equity investments—and shows how the popularization of egg freezing has profound consequences for the way in which female fertility and reproductive aging are understood, commercialized and politicized. Beyond an individual reproductive choice for people who may want to have children later in life, Freezing Fertility explores how the rise of egg freezing also reveals broader cultural, political and economic negotiations about reproductive politics, gender inequities, age normativities and the financialization of healthcare. Van de Wiel investigates these issues by analyzing a wide range of sources—varying from sparkly online platforms to heart-breaking court cases and intimate autobiographical accounts—that are emblematic of each stage of the egg freezing procedure. By following the egg’s journey, Freezing Fertility examines how contemporary egg freezing practices both reflect broader social, regulatory and economic power asymmetries and repoliticize fertility and aging in ways that affect the public at large. In doing so, the book explores how the possibility of egg freezing shifts our relation to the beginning and end of life.

This comprehensively updated and expanded second edition builds on its successful and popular predecessor, retaining the practical features which made the first edition such an essential guide to IVF. The edition describes additions to the range of ART clinical treatments, including the use of testicular and epididymal sperm, blastocyst stage transfer, and new perspectives in cryobiology and cryopreservation techniques. By incorporating laboratory techniques and protocols, with an even greater emphasis on quality control, it provides an indispensable and practical account. The introductory chapters covering the scientific background that underpins effective laboratory practice have been substantially expanded, derived from research in mammalian systems into the molecular biology of oogenesis, oocyte maturation, and early embryo metabolism. This second edition distils a wealth of practical and scientific detail for the benefit of all IVF practitioners.

The births of more than 100 apparently normal infants at term following pregnancies initiated by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer testifies to the successful clinical application of insights obtained from studies in reproductive biology over the last 20 years. In women, these studies have included: 1) characterization of the changes in blood hormone profiles throughout ovulatory menstrual cycles; 2) documentation of the hormonal composition of antral fluid in developing and degenerating preovulatory follicles; 3) correlation of these observations with the state of oocyte maturation and the fertilizability of the oocyte; 4) application of pharmacologic agents for perturbing the normal hormone profiles to regulate the number of preovulatory follicles developing and the time of ovulation; and 5) development of non-invasi ve methods for monitoring follicular development. Optimizing methods for maturing and fertilizing eggs, for moni toring normal development in vi tro, and for transferring and achieving implantation of embryos are continuing concerns of physicians and scientists responsible for extant programs. In addition, all serious students of reproductive biology should critically examine every facet of the processes which must concatenate to assure birth of normal infants following pregnancies achieved by these methods. However, the literature which contains the informational substrate is dispersed widely in a plethora of journals not always readily accessible. Bringing the essentials together facilitates both rapid retrieval of data and access to relevant literature.

The new edition of this text admirably fills the need for a primer on the central topics involved in Human In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Supplying a comprehensive and hands-on approach to IVF, this source presents established state-of-the-art procedures and techniques, as well as the most current research in the field. Expert contributors also discuss the history of IVF and the potential of future research. Offering essential information for reproductive endocrinologists, IVF practitioners and embryologists, this book guides readers though every step of human assisted conception, from patient pre-treatment to monitoring of outcomes.

In the 25 years since the first edition of Comprehensive Gynecology, many scientific advances have occurred in medical practice. The first four editions were largely the work of the original four editors: Drs. William Droegemueller, Arthur L. Herbst, Daniel R. Mishell, Jr., and Morton A. Stenchever...With the staggering volume of medical literature published and the complexities of the gynecologic subspecialties, we have collaborated with additional experts for the sixth edition. We've "examined disease" and added a new chapter on the interaction of medical diseases and female physiology. We've "investigated discord" with new authors to completely rewrite the emotional and psychological issues in gynecology and the legal issues for obstetrician-gynecologists. Other chapters have delved into the controversies in breast cancer screening, vitamin D use, the ongoing debates in hormone therapy, and vaginal mesh use for pelvic organ prolapse surgery. (from Preface -- MD Consult, viewed April 9, 2012)