title: Viability of embryos following second polar body removal in a mouse model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of the second polar body removal on the viability and development potential of the resulting embryos.
  
  
  METHODS
  The second polar body was removed in 343 mouse oocytes and the development potential of the resulting embryos was compared in vitro to that in 223 intact mouse embryos and 222 controls which were placed under the same conditions as those micromanipulated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of morphologically normal blastocysts formed by polar body biopsied oocytes (70.8%) was not significantly different from that obtained from the control (81.1%) and intact (85%) oocytes. Cell counts of blastocysts obtained from the manipulated and non-manipulated oocytes were also not statistically different.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The second polar body biopsy does not have a significant adverse effect on preimplantation development and may be applied for genetic evaluation of oocytes.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Genetics Institute, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kovalinskaya
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Verlinsky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology*; D001757:Blastomeres; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D005260:Female; D005328:Fetal Viability; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology*