– a medical professional with specialized training in clinical genetics.

– a collective term which refers to a variety of medical procedures used to achieve pregnancy.

– this term describes cell division that occurs during the formation of the mature egg and sperm. During meiosis, the number of chromosomes (genes) is reduced so that the egg and sperm contribute only half of the parent’s genes to the embryo.

– the use of medications to stimulate growth and development of multiple ovarian follicles.

– a structure in the ovary that has nurtured the ripening egg and from which the egg is released or retrieved.

– a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates the ovary to ripen a follicle for ovulation.

– a medical complication of the stimulation procedures and medications in which stimulated follicles produce excess hormones and other factors which may lead to serious complications and may cause cancellation of a cycle and for a small number of women may result in death.

– a procedure during which an egg is removed from a ripe follicle and fertilized by a sperm outside the human body.

– an assisted fertilization technique in which a sperm is micro injected directly into the egg cytoplasm.

– refers to procedures that are performed on embryos prior to implantation, sometimes even on oocytes prior to fertilization to determine gene status.

– a polar body is a small cell that is naturally released by the egg or oocyte during the process of meiosis. The first polar body is released by the oocyte near the time of ovulation. The second polar body is released by the oocyte, at the time of fertilization. The polar bodies do not contribute to the developing embryo, but are naturally discarded by the oocyte during the process of meiosis. Because the polar body contains one half of the possible genetic information of the mother, the genetic information of the oocyte can be inferred by the genetic testing of the polar body.

– a single cell from the developing 3-day embryo.

– the stage of development that the embryo is in when it enters the uterine cavity for implantation (typically 5-6 days after fertilization). It is comprised of two types of cells; an outer layer of cells called the trophoblast that will become the supporting tissue of the embryo such as the placenta and an inner layer referred to as the Inner Cell Mass, which will be multiply and contribute to the cells of the embryo.

– halting the embryo development before implantation through a freezing procedure.

– testing for genetic mutations in a fetus during the first or second trimester of pregnancy.

– one of the most widely used laboratory techniques for visualizing genetic information and can be used for PGD or PND.

– involves the study of BRCA1/2 inheritance patterns within a family and the identification of genetic markers that map near the gene. These genetic markers are physically linked to the gene.

– a type of visualization used to determine the chromosome number and chromosomal mutation status of the embryo via PGD or PND.

– a procedure in which a hole is made in the zona pellucida of the early embryo. The embryo may more easily “hatch” out of the zona through the hole prior to implantation.