Medicine: CONCEPTION IN A GLASS

(1 The woman is treated with hormones to stimulate maturation of eggs in the ovary.

(2) To locate the ovary, an optical system, called a laparoscope, is inserted through an incision in the abdominal wall. Under direct vision, a needle is then inserted into the ovary to draw out the eggs.

(3) An egg is placed in a dish containing blood serum and nutrients, to which sperm is added for fertilization.

(4) Once an egg is fertilized by one of the many spermatozoa, it is then transferred to another dish of blood serum and sustaining nutrients. For the next three to six days, the fertilized egg divides, creating a cluster of cells called a blastocyst.

(5) After the woman receives further hormone treatment to prepare the uterine lining, the blastocyst is placed in the uterus, where it attaches to the wall and normal embryo development proceeds—as it would from a natural conception.