Ultrasonically guided aspiration of human oocytes

Abstract

Ultrasound examination of the female reproductive organs is performed through a full urinary bladder in order to displace the air-containing intestines. The ovaries are seen beside, above or behind the uterus, and the cyclic changes are easily followed by repeated ultrasound examinations (Lenz 1984). Being fluid-filled, the follicles are depicted as echo-free spheric structures inside the echo-poor ovaries. The mature follicle measures 18–25 mm in diameter and is therefore an obvious target for puncture and aspiration, when the oocyte is to be collected and fertilized in the laboratory. This technique, called in vitro fertilization (IVF), is used in the treatment of infertility caused by severely damaged or absent Fallopian tubes or by oligospermia.