A

AH

Assisted Hatching

The procedure consists of laser cutting the transparent sheath surrounding the embryo, facilitating its hatching and implantation. This treatment is intended for couples after several failures in vitro in which implantation did not take place, in the case of the presence of visibly thickened embryo's transparent coat, and for patients over 40 years of age.

ART

Assisted reproductive technology

Medically assisted reproduction; the totality of procedures and treatments to bring about pregnancy in which it is necessary to prepare ova or sperm cells in a laboratory setting. These include, but are not limited to: in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, oviductal gamete transfer, oviductal zygote delivery, oviductal embryo transfer, gamete and embryo freezing, and oocyte and embryo donation.

AIH

Artificial insemination homologous/husband

Insemination with partner's sperm

Amenorrhea

Absence of menstruation. Primary amenorrhea affects women who have never menstruated. Secondary amenorrhea affects women who have already menstruated but who have not for six months or more.

Anovulation

Lack of ovulation.

Aneuploidy

Having an abnormal number of chromosomes.

Azoospermia

Lack of sperm and spermatogenic epithelial elements in semen; one of the causes of male infertility

B

Blastocyst

The stage of development that an embryo reaches about 5 days after fertilization. At the blastocyst stage, implantation of the embryo in the uterine cavity occurs naturally.

Bicornuate uterus

A congenital deformity of the uterus causing it to split at the top.

C

Chromosomes

Structures in cell nuclei that carry genetic material (DNA). In humans, there are normally 46 chromosomes, with equal halves coming from the father and mother.

E

Egg cell freezing

Freezing inhibits the metabolism and stops the ageing process of the cell. Thus, the "age" of an egg cell after freezing is the same as the patient's age on the day of egg collection, which may be important for successful treatment. It has been proven that the patient's age is one of the most important prognostic factors in pregnancy. The use of frozen cells also makes it possible to bypass stimulation of ovulation which is a burden on the body.

Ejaculate

A liquid substance usually containing sperm and plasma given off during ejaculation of semen.

Embryo

An embryo that results from the first division of a fertilized egg cell (zygote) and develops in this stage up to 8 weeks after fertilization. Ideally, in vitro, on day 2 after fertilization, it has 4 blastomeres; on day 3, it has 8 blastomeres; on day 4, it is a mulberry-like morula containing about 10-60 blastomeres that come together; and on day 5, it reaches the blastocyst stage, which, on day 6, begins implantation in the uterine mucosa.

EmbryoGlue

Special medium dedicated to embryo transfer. It is composed of a high concentration of hyaluronan, a compound naturally occurring in the uterus, fallopian fluid and follicular fluid, thanks to which it increases the chance of implantation of transferred embryos in the uterus. Its effects have been documented in clinical studies.

F

Fertilization

A fusion of reproductive cells (egg and sperm), resulting in a new cell called a zygote.

G

Gameta

Reproductive cell: sperm cell in a man, egg cell in a woman.

I

Idiopathic infertility

Infertility of unexplained cause. It occurs when the reason for the inability to get pregnant cannot be found despite the use of modern diagnostic methods.

Implantation of an embryo

The entry of an embryo into contact with the endometrium of the uterus. There are several stages: attachment, implantation, and formation of the placenta.

IUI

Intrauterine insemination

Fertilization inside the uterus (IUI)

IVF

In vitro fertilization

A method of fertilization in which an ovum and a sperm cell are brought together under laboratory conditions outside the female reproductive system. The ova collected by puncture of the ovaries are placed in a single dish together with previously collected and prepared sperm from the husband or donor for fertilization.

ICSI

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection / Docytoplasmic sperm injection

In vitro fertilization using intracytoplasmic sperm injection - The essence of the procedure is the insertion of a single sperm into a mature egg with a micropipette (under a microscope).

IMSI

Intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection

The method used in the procedure of in vitro fertilization consisting of the intracytoplasmic injection of a sperm cell into an egg after a detailed morphological evaluation of the sperm head for the presence of vacuoles under magnification (about 6000x). The procedure is intended for couples after multiple IVF failures, miscarriages, extremely low sperm parameters.

K

Karyotype

An image of chromosomes in a human somatic cell. It is performed to detect genetic abnormalities that may cause disease in a person or his children. The karyotype distinguishes between autosomes (chromosomes that do not differ in individuals of different sexes, in humans - 22 pairs) and sex chromosomes (X,Y).

M

MESA

Microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration

Microsurgical retrieval of sperm from the epididymis.

MSOME

Motile sperm organelle morphology examination

A technique that allows the structure of a living sperm to be observed at 6000x or 8000x magnification. With this method, it is possible to determine the correctness of the gamete structure and which sperm is the best. These parameters determine successful fertilization and proper development of the early embryo, which increases the chance of offspring.

O

Oogenesis

The process of egg cell formation and maturation; takes place in the ovaries

Oocyte donor

A woman who donates her egg cells to another woman

Ovaries

Female gonads that produce egg cells and hormones

Oviduct

The even ducts through which egg cells travel to the uterus after being released from the ovaries. The fallopian tube is usually where the egg and sperm meet and where fertilization occurs.

Ovum

Oocyte

The female gamete, a haploid reproductive cell, is formed by oogenesis in the ovary.

Ovarian puncture

Collection of oocytes under ultrasound guidance under brief general anaesthesia 36 hours after administration of chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which causes oocytes to mature.

P

PESA

Percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration

Percutaneous aspiration of semen from the epididymis.

PICSI

An in vitro fertilization procedure involving the intra-cytoplasmic delivery of a sperm into an egg by ICSI, but using sperm that exhibit hyaluronic acid binding. Indications for PICSI include a below-normal HBA test result.

S

Sperm

Male gamete, a haploid reproductive cell. Sperm cells are formed in the testes during spermatogenesis and mature in the epididymis. Spermatozoa consist of a head, which contains genetic material, an insertion, and villi, which enables movement.

Sperm donor

A man donating his semen to be used for insemination (AID) or IVF

Spermatogeneza

The process of sperm formation and maturation that takes place in the testes

T

Time Lapse (Embrioscope, Primo Vision)

The system is based on a time-lapse technique, which allows 24-hour monitoring of embryo development under constant conditions, from the moment of fertilization to the last day of in vitro culture. Thanks to the possibility of precise analysis of embryo development at each stage it allows us to select the embryo with the highest development potential and probability of pregnancy for transfer. The advantage of using the time lapse method is that embryos can be cultured and monitored under stable conditions without removing them from the incubator. The system also allows for a recording of a commemorative video, which we can provide on a USB flash drive, of embryo development from the moment of fertilization to the last day of culture.

TESA

Testicular sperm aspiration

Percutaneous puncture of the testicle using a fine needle to aspirate semen

TESE

Testicular sperm extraction

Open testicular biopsy for sperm collection

Z

Zygote

A diploid cell resulting from fertilization, which is the union of a haploid male gamete (sperm) with a haploid female gamete (egg). From the zygote, an embryo develops.