The clubfoot painted by Jusepe de Ribera: a controversial diagnosis.

The Clubfoot painted by José de Ribera depicts a young beggar affected by a typical equinus clubfoot. He shows a contorted right hand and wrist. His left hand holds a begging note, suggesting some difficulty to speak.

Morphokinetics analysis of embryos derived from vitrified/warmed oocytes.

Purpose: Oocyte vitrification is a worldwide used technique that has proved its worth. Although it was shown not to alter oocyte integrity, a recent study concluded that it may affect oocyte embryo development. As the morphology and kinetics of embryos derived from sibling fresh and vitrified oocytes have not been described previously, the present study evaluates cleavage rate, blastomeres size, fragmentation rate, and blastocyst formation in vitrified/warmed oocyte derived embryos (VODE) as compared with sibling fresh oocytes derived embryos (FODE).

Normal live birth after vitrified/warmed oocytes intracytoplasmic sperm injection with immotile spermatozoa in a patient with Kartagener's syndrome.

The present article is a report on two cases of male Kartagener's syndrome enrolled in intraconjugal IVF programme due to akinetospermia. Viable spermatozoa were selected using a hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) and pentoxifylline activation and subsequently microinjected into vitrified/warmed oocytes. The treatment enabled one of these two couples to achieve a pregnancy and to give birth to a healthy baby girl.

[Trisomy 21 in visual art].

In 1866, J. Langdon Down published a paper on "an ethnic classification of idiots" and noted their facial resemblance with individuals of the Mongolian people. In 1959, J.

[Oocyte vitrification in an ART laboratory].

Oocyte vitrification has been authorized in France after the modification of French bioethics law in July 2011. This evolution will bring a dramatic change in patients' management since, from 2011, infertile couples, oocyte donation and fertility preservation programs will benefit this technique in France. We have introduced oocyte vitrification in our ART laboratory through a validation of the method using Evidence-Based Medicine model: open system Cryotop, Ethylène-glycol 15% and DMSO 15%.

[Oocyte vitrification and its impact on the clinical practice of assisted reproduction].

Oocyte vitrification is a new technique in cryobiology that will lead to a number of improvements in assisted reproduction practices, oocyte donation and the preservation of female fertility. Professionals already versed in the techniques of micromanipulation will be able to master the new procedures, which should not be delegated to unqualified staff. When adopted by clinical units, oocyte vitrification will require changes in laboratory and administrative organization.

[From anencephaly to the myth of headless men].

Among ancient fanciful creatures, men without a head have often been represented since the end of the Middle-ages, especially during the Renaissance and until the 18th century. They are probably inspired from new-born anencephalic infants.

[Procedure used to follow-up a cohort of IVF children. Interests and limits of tools performed to longitudinal follow up for a monocentric cohort].

Background: Follow-up of in vitro fertilization (IVF) children is recommended by the French health authorities. Follow-up procedures were set-up in a medically assisted reproduction unit at the Saint-Joseph Hospital in Marseille. The objective was to ensure effective follow-up.

[From teratology to mythology: ancient legends].

The mythology of the Greeks and Romans is full of monsters of fiction: giants, cyclops, centaurs, hydras, Gorgons… The accounts of travelers, reproduced in the Natural History of Pline l'Ancien reported the existence, in distant countries, of men with a dog's head (baboons), of men with a single tall foot (sciapode), beings whose face is embedded in the chest (or acephala blemmyes), to which must be added a wide variety of men with no mouth, no nose, or equipped with giant ears or feet turned backwards, as well as hermaphrodites. Teratology reports on monstrous births, which have constituted the factual basis from which the imagination conceived adults whose morphology corresponds to the monsters of legend. Newborns sirenomelia were behind the legend of sciapode and sirens.

[Assessment of oocyte vitrification in an IVF/ICSI program].

Slow freezing of human oocytes is not yet a practical option. A new rapid freezing technique known as vitrification has recently been validated for use in assisted reproductive technologies. We propose to conduct a national trial aimed at validating this method in France.

[Value of a genetic evaluation before an intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure].

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) still needs to be validated as far as safety is concerned. Results concerning foetal karyotypes currently seem to show an increase in sexual chromosomal abnormalities. In view of the heterogeneity of publications concerning genetic tests, it seems necessary to define a protocol with a limited time span, which will allow the extensive collection of data.

[Poor responders followed for 3 years in an IVF program].

Our study consisted of a population of 100 women who represented an insufficient response to the induction of ovulation. We researched to find out which therapeutic approach, of the subsequent attempts to IVF would give greater hope to a better response. Two groups were individualized: in the first group (62 women) we obtained at least once, 3 oocytes (288 attempts), in the second group (38 women) we always obtained less than 3 oocytes.