Fertility Acronyms and Glossary

Utah Fertility Center invites you to read through our list of acronyms and glossary terms regarding your infertility treatment in Pleasant Grove, Ogden, Murray, Park City and St. George, Utah. Becoming familiar with these terms can help you more fully understand your treatment and thus feel more confident and prepared. For more information, you can contact one of our offices or talk with one of our board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologists during your appointment.

ABO-Rh
Blood type and antibody screen

Assisted Hatching (AH)
Assisted hatching is an IVF technique that involves creating a small opening in the shell (zona pellucida) of an embryo to weaken the wall of the embryo and thus help the embryo to successfully hatch and implant into the endometrium (lining of the uterus).

Blastocyst
Refers to an embryo which is at day 5 of development after fertilization.

Cleaved Embryo
Refers to an embryo between 2 and 4 days of development after fertilization.

Embryo Transfer
This is a simple procedure that is done either 3-5 days after a fresh egg retrieval or during a frozen embryo transfer cycle. Under transabdominal ultrasound guidance, a soft catheter is guided into the uterine cavity, and the embryos are placed in an area with the highest receptivity. It is not painful, but a Valium is given to help the uterine muscle relax. Patients remain at rest for 30 minutes after the embryo transfer.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
FSH is a hormone normally secreted from the pituitary gland to stimulate ovarian follicle growth and maturation. Synthetic FSH (Bravelle®, Follistim®, Gonal F®) can be injected to cause follicle growth of one or more follicles.

Gestational Carrier
A woman who undergoes an embryo transfer who is not genetically linked to the embryo being transferred.

Gonadoptropins
There are many types of gonadotropins used alone or in combination for ovulation induction. They include FSH (follicle stimulating hormone): Bravelle®, Follistim®, Gonal F®; or HMG (human menopausal gonadotropin): Repronex®, Pergonal®, Menopure®.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)
Hormone of pregnancy. Manufactured HCG is also injected to cause an egg to fully mature and ovulate. Brand names are: Ovidrel®, Profasi® and Pregnyl®.

Hysterosalpingogram (HSG)
A pelvic X-ray is done to determine if the uterine cavity is without lesions and to check for fallopian tube patency.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
ICSI is a lab procedure developed to help couples undergoing IVF with male factor infertility. ICSI involves the insertion of a single sperm directly into the cytoplasm of a mature egg using a microinjection pipette to help with fertilization.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
IUI is a fertility procedure in which sperm are washed, concentrated, and injected directly into a woman’s uterus. In natural intercourse, only a fraction of the sperm makes it up to the upper reproductive tract. IUI increases the number of available sperm to fertilize an egg.

In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
IVF is an advanced reproductive technology (ART) where the egg and the sperm are fertilized outside of the body, and then the embryo is placed into the uterine cavity.

Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (PESA)
PESA is an outpatient sperm retrieval technique to obtain sperm from a man’s epididymis if he does not have any sperm in his ejaculate.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
PGD is a technique that can be used during an IVF procedure to test embryos for genetic disorders and chromosome abnormalities prior to their transfer into the uterus.

ART 
Assisted Reproductive Technology

CC 
Cubic Centimeter (the same as ML)

CD1 

ER 
Egg Retrieval

ET
Embryo Transfer

FET
Frozen Embryo Transfer

FSH 
Follicle Stimulating Hormone

GNRH 
Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (e.g.: Lupron)

HCG 
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

HMG/FSH
Human Menopausal Gonadotropin/Follicle Stimulating Hormone (e.g.: Menopur, Bravelle, Repronex, Gonal F, Follistim and others)

HSG 
Hysterosalpingogram

ICSI
IIntracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

IM 
Intra-muscular

IUI 
Intrauterine Insemination

IVF 
In Vitro Fertilization

LH 
Luteinizing Hormone

ML
Milliliter (the same as CC)

OD 
Ovum Donor

PESA 
Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration

PGD 
Preimplantation Genetic diagnosis

P4 
Progesterone

PRL 
Prolactin

RPL 
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

SART 
Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology

SQ 
Subcutaneous (also SC)

TESE
Testicular Sperm Extraction

TDI
Therapeutic Donor Insemination

T3, T4, FT4
Thyroid Function Tests

TSH 
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone