In-vitro fertilization of preovulatory human eggs.
Preovulatory eggs were aspirated from the ovaries of women 36-38 h after hCG and incubated with washed sperm suspensions for 3 or 6 h; 5 out of 9 eggs were fertilized. Sperm penetration into the ooplasm and decondensation of the male chromatin was observed by 3 h, and an early pronucleate egg was found by 6 h, suggesting that human spermatozoa may become capacitated in vitro in 3-4 h.
D004477:Ectogenesis; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology*; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors