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Introduction

from Section 1 - Physiology of Reproduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2021

Eliezer Girsh
Affiliation:
Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon
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Summary

Evidence of infertility complications dates back to biblical times, when the foremother, Sarah, failed to conceive. Many centuries later, in 1667 the Danish scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a glazier by profession, serendipitously invented a magnifying glass and in 1674 Nicolaas Hartsoeker, a Dutch scientist, assisted by Leeuwenhoek, found sperm cells in the seminal fluid under magnification (Figure 0.1). Observing human sperm through a microscope, Hartsoeker believed that he saw tiny men inside the sperm, which he called Homunculus. The theory of Homunculus (1694) claimed that a tiny, formed child exists in the head of the sperm cell, which becomes engulfed in the uterus, where it grows as if in an incubator until the moment of birth (Figure 0.2). It was then that the idea of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born, i.e., to grow a child in a laboratory flask instead of in the mother’s womb. The understanding that the embryo is formed by fertilization of the oocyte by the sperm cell came only later.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Eliezer Girsh
  • Book: A Textbook of Clinical Embryology
  • Online publication: 05 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108881760.001
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  • Introduction
  • Edited by Eliezer Girsh
  • Book: A Textbook of Clinical Embryology
  • Online publication: 05 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108881760.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Edited by Eliezer Girsh
  • Book: A Textbook of Clinical Embryology
  • Online publication: 05 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108881760.001
Available formats
×