Fertilizing ability of immotile spermatozoa after intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Sometimes spermatozoa from ejaculate, epididymis or testis show a total absence of motility. For some patients, however, very few spermatozoa with very poor motility can be found after several hours of incubation (initially immotile spermatozoa). Other samples show no motility at all even after extended culture (totally immotile spermatozoa).

[Physiology and disorders of the epididymis].

The authors review first macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the epididymis. They insist on the labyrinth-like structure of the efferent tubules composing part of the caput and they do detail the cellular types lining the epididymal tubules. Furthermore, they detail the epididymal functions both with regard to the epithelium as to the luminal compartment.

Pregnancy obtained with human testicular spermatozoa in an in vitro fertilization program.

The fertilizing capacity of human testicular spermatozoa and the positive outcome of an in vitro fertilization program open a wide range of opportunities for men suffering from obstructive and inoperable azoospermia. In six cases, subzonal sperm injection or intracytoplasmic sperm injection techniques were applied to inject testicular spermatozoa into human oocytes. The fertilization rate after testicular sperm injection reached 45%.

Prevention of multiple pregnancies in an in vitro fertilization program.

Objective: To limit the high number of multiple pregnancies in an IVF program.

Setting: In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory, Fertility Department, Public Hospital.

Interventions: The number of embryos transferred was limited to two instead of three.

A monozygotic twin pregnancy after application of zona rubbing on a frozen-thawed blastocyst.

Assisted hatching techniques enhance the success rate of implantation of in-vitro fertilized human embryos. We report here the successful transfer of a frozen-thawed human blastocyst on which we applied a non-invasive zona rubbing technique (reduction of the thickness of the zona pellucida by gentle rubbing with a microneedle). The implantation in the uterus led to the delivery of healthy monozygotic twins.