With 3000 new references added since the first edition, this book gives the information necessary to produce embryos totally through in vitro techniques. It shows the commercial applications of embryo and oocyte research. Cattle remain at the forefront of many new developments in reproductive technology and what can be done for the cow today will later be applicable to other farm livestock and perhaps humans. This new edition reviews the considerable advances and issues in embryo production technology, based on reports since the first edition in 1994. This is a must have volume for those who own the first edition, and in itself an incredibly informative text.

In recent decades there has been an explosion in work in the social and physical sciences describing the similarities between human and nonhuman as well as human and non-animal thinking. This work has explicitly decentered the brain as the sole, self-contained space of thought, and it has found thinking to be an activity that operates not only across bodies but also across bodily or cellular membranes, as well as multifaceted organic and inorganic environments. For example, researchers have looked at the replication and spread of slime molds (playfully asking what would happen if they colonized the earth) to suggest that they exhibit 'smart behavior' in the way they move as a potential way of considering the spread of disease across the globe. Other scholars have applied this model of non-human thought to the reach of data mining and global surveillance. In The Biopolitics of Alphabets and Embryos, Ruth Miller argues that these types of phenomena are also useful models for thinking about the growth, reproduction, and spread of political thought and democratic processes. Giving slime, data and unbounded entities their political dues, Miller stresses their thinking power and political significance and thus challenges the anthropocentrism of mainstream democratic theories. Miller emphasizes the non-human as highly organized, systemic and productive of democratic growth and replication. She examines developments such as global surveillance, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, which have been characterized as threats to the privacy, dignity, and integrity of the rational, maximizing and freedom-loving democratic citizen. By shifting her level of analysis from the politics of self-determining subjects to the realm of material environments and information systems, Miller asks what might happen if these alternative, nonhuman thought processes become the normative thought processes of democratic engagement.

Covering the essentials of normal and abnormal human development for students in a variety of health science disciplines, Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects, 10th Edition, reflects new research findings and current clinical practice through concise text and abundant illustrations. This edition has been fully updated by the world's foremost embryologists and is based on the popular text, The Developing Human, written by the same author team. It provides an easily accessible understanding of all of the latest advances in embryology, including normal and abnormal embryogenesis, causes of birth defects, and the role of genes in human development. Features streamlined content throughout, numerous photographs of common clinical cases and embryological explanations, didactic illustrations, and nearly 700 USMLE-style questions with full answers and explanations to help prepare for professional exams. Includes interactive clinical cases in every chapter that make important connections between human development and clinical practice-ideal for preparing for USMLE Step 1. Features access to 18 full-color, expertly narrated animations that guide students through key concepts in learning the complexities of embryologic development. Includes many new color photographs, new diagnostic images (3D ultrasound, CT scans, and MR images), an updated teratology section, revised and highlighted information on molecular aspects of developmental biology, and new information on the cellular and molecular basis of embryonic development. Follows the official international list of embryological terms (Terminologia Embryonica, 2013). Enhanced eBook version included with purchase. Your enhanced eBook allows you to access all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

This new handbook provides private-practice and hospital gynecologists with a practical guide for advising and treating patients in the case of maternal disease during pregnancy. More than 100 diagnoses are presented from A to Z and described with respect to disease definition, clinical care and obstetrical management. One easy-to-remember guideline summarizes what is most important for the treatment of each disease.

Obtaining good quality oocytes and preparing them for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a key stage in assisted reproduction. This is a complex process with many pitfalls, making good clinical preparation and laboratory technique essential for success. Illustrated throughout, this book will be valuable to clinical embryologists, laboratory personnel wishing to redefine or develop technique and improve outcomes, IVF quality managers, and gynecologists performing oocyte retrieval. Featuring descriptions of the underlying science along with practical advice on methods and trouble-shooting, this comprehensive manual will aid all those involved in this complex process of oocyte retrieval and preparation in navigating towards optimal outcomes.

Too tiny to see with the naked eye, the human embryo was just a hypothesis until the microscope made observation of embryonic development possible. This changed forever our view of the minuscule cluster of cells that looms large in questions about the meaning of life. Embryos under the Microscope examines how our scientific understanding of the embryo has evolved from the earliest speculations of natural philosophers to today's biological engineering, with its many prospects for life-enhancing therapies. Jane Maienschein shows that research on embryos has always revealed possibilities that appear promising to some but deeply frightening to others, and she makes a persuasive case that public understanding must be informed by up-to-date scientific findings. Direct observation of embryos greatly expanded knowledge but also led to disagreements over what investigators were seeing. Biologists confirmed that embryos are living organisms undergoing rapid change and are not in any sense functioning persons. They do not feel pain or have any capacity to think until very late stages of fetal development. New information about DNA led to discoveries about embryonic regulation of genetic inheritance, as well as evolutionary relationships among species. Scientists have learned how to manipulate embryos in the lab, taking them apart, reconstructing them, and even synthesizing--practically from scratch--cells, body parts, and maybe someday entire embryos. Showing how we have learned what we now know about the biology of embryos, Maienschein changes our view of what it means to be alive.

First published in 1959 as the second edition of a 1934 original, this book describes the Western history of embryology from prehistoric concepts of foetal growth through Graeco-Roman antiquity to the close of the eighteenth century. The text is illustrated with plates and diagrams showing the development of scientific understanding over time, first through artistic representations of gestation and later through scientific drawings and sketches. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of medicine.

Founded in 1914, the Department of Embryology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has made an unparalleled contribution to the biological understanding of embryos and their development. Originally much of the research was carried out through experimental embryology, but by the second half of the twentieth century, tissue and cell cultures were providing histological information about development, and biochemistry and molecular genetics have taken center stage. This final volume in a series of five histories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington provides a history of embryology and reproductive biology spanning a hundred years. It provides important insights into the evolution of both scientific ideas and the public perception of embryo research, concluding with a reflection on current debates.

Ume Eder Bat (A beautiful child) (popular song from Basque folklore) The aim of this monograph is to introduce the postnatal development of morphological features that are relevant to readers interested in the neurobiology and pathology of the hippocampal formation in terms of the complex phenomena that underlie the progressive anatomical and functional maturation of this brain region. This review focuses on the morphological aspects, while more detailed basic phenomena associated with neuronal maturation-which are undoubtedly also of great interest-are only marginally referred to, although a selection of behavioral and clinical aspects will also be briefly addressed in an attempt to illustrate real situations in different clinical specialties. The creation of this monograph is justified by the increasing importance and growing awareness shown in recent years of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. This awareness is leading to increasing refinement in clinical exami- tions of patients that may suffer from different neurodevelopment-related diseases, such as autism, epilepsy, memory disorders, etc. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first comprehensive description of the postnatal changes in the hip- campal formation in its different constituent fields. Given the growing sensitivity and accuracy of neuroradiological examinations, particularly MRI, we also sought to offer a glimpse at the MRI aspects related to the development of the hippocampal formation in the human infant.

Public attention on embryo research has never been greater. Modern reproductive medicine technology and the use of embryos to generate stem cells ensure that this will continue to be a topic of debate and research across many disciplines. This multidisciplinary book explores the concept of a 'healthy' embryo, its implications on the health of children and adults, and how perceptions of what constitutes child and adult health influence the concept of embryo 'health'. The concept of human embryo health is considered from preconception to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to recent foetal surgical approaches. Burgeoning capacities in both genetic and reproductive science and their clinical implications have catalysed the necessity to explore the concept of a 'healthy' embryo. The authors are from five countries and 13 disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, biological sciences and medicine, ensuring that the book has a broad coverage and approach.

Founded in 1914, the Department of Embryology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has made an unparalleled contribution to the biological understanding of embryos and their development. Originally much of the research was carried out through experimental embryology, but by the second half of the twentieth century, tissue and cell cultures were providing histological information about development, and biochemistry and molecular genetics have taken center stage. This final volume in a series of five histories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington provides a history of embryology and reproductive biology spanning a hundred years. It provides important insights into the evolution of both scientific ideas and the public perception of embryo research, concluding with a reflection on current debates.

The fetus occupies a critical phase during human development. It is at this stage when the body systems that will support us throughout our lives begin to face up to the challenge of life outside the womb. While the fetus can demonstrate a remarkably robust response to challenges in the uterus, it is also an exquisitely sensitive phase of development. It is now well recognized that disturbances to the materno-fetal environment can influence and even undermine our state of health well into adulthood. This exciting new publication provides a valuable insight into fetal growth and development across all the main body systems, and examines the influence of the materno-fetal environment on adult-onset diseases. This text contains additional chapters on the embryo, placenta, and parturition, to insure that this is a fully self-contained introduction. This book is written by world-renowned experts from leading centers of excellence and will be an invaluable introduction for students of medicine, reproductive biology, and human biology.

The possibility that human beings may soon be cloned has generated enormous anxiety and fueled a vigorous debate about the ethics of contemporary science. Unfortunately, much of this debate about cloning has treated cloning as singular and revolutionary. The essays in Cloning and the Future of Human Embryo Research place debates about cloning in the context of reproductive technology and human embryo research. Although novel, cloning is really just the next step in a series of reproductive interventions that began with in vitro fertilization in 1978. Cloning, embryo research, and reproductive technology must therefore be discussed together in order to be understood. The authors of this volume bring these topics together by examining the status of preimplantation embryos, debates about cloning and embryo research, and the formulation of public policy. The book is distinctive in framing cloning as inextricably tied to embryo research and in offering both secular and religious perspectives on cloning and embryo research.

Since 1975, the Oklahoma Notes have been among the most widely used reviews for medical students preparing for Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. OKN: Anatomy takes a unified approach to the subject, covering Embryology, Neuroanatomy, Histology, and Gross Anatomy. Like other Oklahoma Notes, Anatomy contains self-assessment questions, geared to the current USMLE format; tables and figures to promote rapid self-assessment and review; a low price; and coverage of just the information needed to ensure Boards success.

The increasing understanding of individual differences in response to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, resulting from genetic and ethnical differences, has increased the potential for individualized treatment for patients, resulting in improved pregnancy and live-birth outcomes. This illustrated book summarizes, and provides updates on, the most recent developments in individualized infertility treatment and embryo selection techniques. Individualization is not only confined to the different steps in the ovarian stimulation process and the luteal phase support, but also to embryo selection techniques, which include, among others, the analysis of embryo development pattern and genetic testing. Chapters cover a multitude of topics, ranging from oocyte maturation and immunological testing to fertilization technique in the IVF laboratory and preparation for optimal endometrial receptivity in cryo cycles. Essential reading for IVF specialists and embryologists in IVF Clinics and also an important text for medical consultants specializing in reproductive medicine, gynecology and embryology.

For around half of the couples who have trouble conceiving the cause of infertility is sperm-related. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is the most common and successful treatment for male infertility. Here, the pioneers for the technique, along with authorities in the field, describe the underlying science of ICSI and other micromanipulation techniques. Practical advice for performing the techniques is covered in depth, including sperm selection, laser-assisted ICSI, and the use of piezo in ICSI. Examining the safety of ICSI in animal models as well as the impact of ICSI on the health and well-being of the children conceived through the procedure is discussed. This manual is an essential resource for clinical embryologists and laboratory personnel wishing to refine or develop techniques and improve outcomes.

Scientists and philosophers have long struggled to answer the questions of when human life begins and when human life has inherent value. The phenomenon of identical (monozygotic) twinning presents a significant challenge to the view that human life and human personhood begin at conception. The fact that a single embryo can split to generate two (or more) genetically identical embryos seems to defy the notion that prior to splitting an embryo can be a single human individual. In Untangling Twinning, Maureen Condic looks at the questions raised by human twinning based on a unique synthesis of molecular developmental biology and Aristotelian philosophy. She begins with a brief historical analysis of the current scientific perspective on the embryo and proceeds to address the major philosophic and scientific concerns regarding human twinning and embryo fusion: Is the embryo one human or two (or even more)? Does the original embryo die, and if not, which of the twins is the original? Who are the parents of the twins? What do twins, chimeras, cloning, and asexual reproduction in humans mean? And what does the science of human embryology say about human ensoulment, human individuality, and human value? Condic's original approach makes a unique contribution to the discussion of human value and human individuality, and offers a clear, evidence-based resolution to questions raised by human twinning. The book is written for students and scholars of bioethics, scientists, theologians, and attorneys who are involved in questions surrounding the human embryo.

Intimate and medicalized, natural and technological, reproduction poses some of the most challenging ethical dilemmas of our time. Reproduction presses the boundaries of humanity and ethical respect, the permissible limits of technology, conscientious objection by health care professionals, and social justice. This volume brings together scholars from multiple perspectives to address both traditional and novel questions about the rights and responsibilities of human reproducers, their caregivers, and the societies in which they live. Among issues treated in the volume are what it is to be a parent, the responsibilities of parents, and the role of society in facilitating or discouraging parenting. May gamete donors be anonymous? Is surrogacy in which a woman gestates a child for others ethically permissible when efforts are made to prevent coercion or exploitation? Should it be mandatory to screen newborns for potentially serious conditions, or permissible to sequence their genomes? Are both parties to a reproductive act equally responsible to support the child, even if one deceived the other? Are there ethical asymmetries between male and female parents, and is the lack of available contraceptives for men unjust? Should the costs of infertility treatment be socially shared, as they are for other forms of health care? Do parents have a duty to try to conceive children under the best circumstances they can - or to avoid conception if the child will suffer? What is the status of the fetus and what ethical limits constrain the use of fetal tissue? Reproduction is a rapidly changing medical field, with novel developments such as mitochondrial transfer or uterine transplantation occurring regularly. And there are emerging natural challenges, too, like the Zika virus. The volume gives readers tools not only to address the problems we now know, but ones that may emerge in the future as well.

'Quite simply the best book about science and life that I have ever read' - Alice Roberts How does life begin? What drives a newly fertilized egg to keep dividing and growing until it becomes 40 trillion cells, a greater number than stars in the galaxy? How do these cells know how to make a human, from lips to heart to toes? How does your body build itself? Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz was pregnant at 42 when a routine genetic test came back with that dreaded word: abnormal. A quarter of sampled cells contained abnormalities and she was warned her baby had an increased risk of being miscarried or born with birth defects. Six months later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy and her research on mice embryos went on to prove that - as she had suspected - the embryo has an amazing and previously unknown ability to correct abnormal cells at an early stage of its development. The Dance of Life will take you inside the incredible world of life just as it begins and reveal the wonder of the earliest and most profound moments in how we become human. Through Magda's trailblazing research as a professor at Cambridge - where she has doubled the survival time of human embryos in the laboratory, and made the first artificial embryo-like structures from stem cells - you'll discover how early life is programmed to repair and organise itself, what this means for the future of pregnancy, and how we might one day solve IVF disorders, prevent miscarriages and learn more about the dance of life as it starts to take shape. The Dance of Life is a moving celebration of the balletic beauty of life's beginnings.

The investigation and management of infertility has progressed radically since the advent of in vitro fertilization. It has ceased to be the province of the gynecologist alone, and often requires the co-operation of gynecologists, andrologists, endocrinologists, embryologists, geneticists, general scientists, psychologists, radiologists, nurses, ultrasonographers, social workers, medical administrators, and lawyers. Many of these do not have a medical background and fewer still have knowledge of the gynecological terms which are still in predominant use. Furthermore, scientific advances have led to the introduction of techniques and terms unfamiliar to the non-scientist, including the gynecologist. This dictionary of reproductive medicine, the first of its kind, has been conceived to address the concerns of all of these groups.

The success of Assisted Reproductive Technology is critically dependent upon the use of well optimized protocols, based upon sound scientific reasoning, empirical observations and evidence of clinical efficacy. Recently, the treatment of infertility has experienced a revolution, with the routine adoption of increasingly specialized molecular biological techniques and advanced methods for the manipulation of gametes and embryos. This textbook - inspired by the postgraduate degree program at the University of Oxford - guides students through the multidisciplinary syllabus essential to ART laboratory practice, from basic culture techniques and micromanipulation to laboratory management and quality assurance, and from endocrinology to molecular biology and research methods. Written for all levels of IVF practitioners, reproductive biologists and technologists involved in human reproductive science, it can be used as a reference manual for all IVF labs and as a textbook by undergraduates, advanced students, scientists and professionals involved in gamete, embryo or stem cell biology.