Microscopy Applications for Reproductive Medicine
Microscopy Solutions for Embryo Quality
Indicators for a "High Quality" Embryo
After fertilization of the oocyte you monitor the embryo growth until the implantation of the embryo. Embryologists have developed morphological parameters that indicate a good or bad prognosis for the developing embryo. Each developmental step is carefully observed.
Indicators for a "high quality" embryo are:
- Cell number - blastomeres and day 3 embryo
- Cell regularity
- Fragmentation / blebbing
- Multinucleation
- Presence of vacuoles, granularity, thickness of the outer shell (or zona pellucida)
Application Examples
Courtesy of Dr. L.-M. Criado Rodríguez, Transgenesis Department, Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Nucleus with nucleoli visible in right cell iHMC