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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffIntrauterine insemination (IUI) is a procedure for treating infertility. The procedure for intrauterine insemination is straightforward; it takes about 15 to 20 minutes and is usually done in a doctor's office or clinic. Sperm that have been "washed" and concentrated are placed directly in your uterus on the day after your ovary releases one or more eggs to be fertilized. The hoped-for outcome of intrauterine insemination is for the sperm to swim into the fallopian tubes and fertilize a waiting egg, resulting in a normal pregnancy.
Depending on the reasons for infertility, intrauterine insemination can be coordinated with your normal cycle or done in conjunction with fertility medications.
- Lobo RA. Infertility: Etiology, diagnostic evaluation, management, prognosis. In: Katz VL, et al. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208702118-2/0/1524/267.html?tocnode=53760021&fromURL=267.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-02951-3..50044-3_1301. Accessed July 2, 2010.
- Hornstein MD, et al. Treatment of unexplained infertility. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 2, 2010.
- Middleton NR, et al. Procedure for intrauterine insemination. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 2, 2010.
- Resnick DJ, et al. The approach to conception for women with seminal plasma protein hypersensitivity. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. 2004;52:42.
- Doody KJ. Treatment of the infertile couple. In: Schorge JO, et al. Williams Gynecology. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3158038. Accessed July 2, 2010.
- Levine BA, et al. Intrauterine insemination and male subfertility. Urologic Clinics of North America. 2008;35:271.
- Dickey RP, et al. Effect of diagnosis, age, sperm quality, and number of preovulatory follicles on the outcome of multiple cycles of clomiphene citrate-intrauterine insemination. Fertility & Sterility. 2002;78:1088.
- Guzick DS, et al. Efficacy of superovulation and intrauterine insemination in the treatment of infertility. New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;340:177.
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