Embryology Videos

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Procedure

ICSI of a human egg in the laboratory. The egg is hold in place with a microneedle by applying gentle suction (observed on the left side). On the right we have a needle with a single sperm at its tip. The needle is inserted in the egg and the sperm is placed inside. Sperm activates and fertilizes the egg to form an embryo.

Evaluation of An In Vitro Day 5 Blastocyst

Morphological assessment of a human blastocyst. We can clearly observe the compacted inner cell mass (baby cells) inside the cavity and the trophectoderm cells (placental cells) surrounding the cavity.

Two High Quality Day 5 Blastocysts

Very well balanced embryos with lots of cells on the inner cell mass and trophectoderm.

Evaluation of Human Cleavage Stage (Day 3) Embryos

In Vitro evaluation of Day 3 human embryos. We can see embryos having 6-8 cells and starting to compact. Compaction is very important for further development into the morula (Day 4) and blastocyst (Day 5) stages.

Insemination of Oocytes (Eggs) During IVF

Insemination in vitro of human sperm and oocytes. We can see sperm swimming to the oocyte. The cells surrounding the oocyte are called cumulus cells (cells that nurture the oocyte during growth and development). Sperm cells pass through the cells, bind to the zona pellucida (shell of the oocyte), penetrate and bind with the oocyte to form an embryo.