artificial insemination artificial insemination artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. it is a fertility treatment for humans, and is a common practice in animal breeding, including dairy cattle (see frozen bovine semen) and pigs. artificial inseminationschematic illustration of human artificial inseminationicd-9-cm69.92meshd007315 artificial insemination may employ assisted reproductive technology, sperm donation and animal husbandry techniques. artificial insemination techniques available include intracervical insemination (ici) and intrauterine insemination (iui). humans history the first recorded case of artificial insemination was john hunter in 1790, who helped impregnate a linen draper's wife. the first reported case of artificial insemination by donor occurred in 1884: william h. pancoast, a professor in philadelphia, took sperm from his "best looking" student to inseminate an anesthetized woman without her knowledge. the case was reported 25 years later in a medical journal. the sperm bank was developed in iowa starting in the 1950s in research conducted by university of iowa medical school researchers jerome k. sherman and raymond bunge. in the united kingdom, the british obstetrician mary barton founded one of the first fertility clinics to offer donor insemination in the 1930s, with her husband bertold wiesner fathering hundreds of offspring. in the 1980s, direct intraperitoneal insemination (dipi) was occasionally used, where doctors injected sperm into the lower abdomen through a surgical hole or incision, with the intention of letting them find the oocyte at the ovary or after entering the genital tract through the ostium of the fallopian tube. general the sperm used in artificial insemination may be provided by either the woman's husband or partner (partner sperm) or by a known or anonymous sperm donor (see sperm donation (donor sperm)). the beneficiaries of artificial insemination are women who desire to give birth to their own child who may be single, women who are in a lesbian relationship or women who are in a heterosexual relationship but with a male partner who is infertile or who has a physical impairment which prevents full intercourse from taking place. artificial insemination techniques were originally used mainly to assist heterosexual couples to conceive where they were having difficulties. with the advancement of techniques in this field, notably icsi, the use of artificial insemination for such couples has largely been rendered unnecessary. however, there are still reasons why a couple would seek to use artificial insemination using the male partner's sperm. in the case of such couples, before artificial insemination is turned to as the solution, doctors will require an examination of both the male and female involved in order to remove any and all physical hindrances that are preventing them from naturally achieving a pregnancy including any factors which prevent the couple from having satisfactory sexual intercourse. the couple is also given a fertility test to determine the motility, number, and viability of the male's sperm and the success of the female's ovulation. from these tests, the doctor may or may not recommend a form of artificial insemination. the results of investigations may, for example, show that the woman's immune system may be rejecting her partner's sperm as invading molecules. women who have issues with the cervix – such as cervical scarring, cervical blockage from endometriosis, or thick cervical mucus – may also benefit from artificial insemination, since the sperm must pass through the cervix to result in fertilization. nowadays artificial insemination in humans is mainly used as a substitute for sexual intercourse for women without a male partner who wish to have their own children and who do so where sperm from a sperm donor is used. donor sperm may be used in other ways, such as ivf and icsi and a woman having a baby by a sperm donor will usually also have these methods available to her as alternatives to artificial insemination. intracervical insemination is the easiest and most common insemination technique and can be used in the home for self-insemination without medical practitioner assistance. compared with natural insemination (i.e., insemination by sexual intercourse), artificial insemination can be more expensive and more invasive, and may require professional assistance. some countries have laws which restrict and regulate who can donate sperm and who is able to receive artificial insemination, and the consequences of such insemination. some women who live in a jurisdiction which does not permit artificial insemination in the circumstance in which she finds herself may travel to another jurisdiction which permits it. if the procedure is successful, the woman will conceive and carry a baby to term in the normal manner. a pregnancy resulting from artificial insemination is no different from a pregnancy achieved by sexual intercourse. in all cases of artificial insemination, the recipient woman will be the biological mother of any child produced, and the male whose sperm is used will be the biological father. there are multiple methods used to obtain the semen necessary for artificial insemination. some methods require only men, while others require a combination of a male and female. those that require only men to obtain semen are masturbation or the aspiration of sperm by means of a puncture of the testicle and epydidymus. methods of collecting semen that involve a combination of a male and female include interrupted intercourse, intercourse with a 'collection condom', or the post-coital aspiration of the semen from the vagina. preparations timing is critical, as the window and opportunity for fertilization is little more than twelve hours from the release of the ovum. to increase the chance of success, the woman's menstrual cycle is closely observed, often using ovulation kits, ultrasounds or blood tests, such as basal body temperature tests over, noting the color and texture of the vaginal mucus, and the softness of the nose of her cervix. to improve the success rate of artificial insemination, drugs to create a stimulated cycle may be used, but the use of such drugs also results in an increased chance of a multiple birth. sperm can be provided fresh or washed. washed sperm is required in certain situations. pre- and post-concentration of motile sperm is counted. sperm from a sperm bank will be frozen and quarantined for a period, and the donor will be tested before and after production of the sample to ensure that he does not carry a transmissible disease. sperm from a sperm bank will also be suspended in a semen extender which assists with freezing, storing and shipping. if sperm is provided by a private donor, either directly or through a sperm agency, it is usually supplied fresh, not frozen, and it will not be quarantined. donor sperm provided in this way may be given directly to the recipient woman or her partner, or it may be transported in specially insulated containers. some donors have their own freezing apparatus to freeze and store their sperm. techniques the human female reproductive system. the cervix is part of the uterus. the cervical canal connects the interiors of the uterus and vagina. semen used is either fresh, raw, or frozen. where donor sperm is supplied by a sperm bank, it will always be quarantined and frozen, and will need to be thawed before use. the sperm is ideally donated after two or three days of abstinence, without lubrication as the lubricant can inhibit the sperm motility. when an ovum is released, semen is introduced into the woman's vagina, uterus or cervix, depending on the method being used. sperm is occasionally inserted twice within a 'treatment cycle'. intracervical intracervical insemination (ici) is the method of artificial insemination which most closely simulates the natural ejaculation of semen by the penis into the vagina during sexual intercourse. it is painless and is the simplest, easiest and most common method of artificial insemination involving the introduction of unwashed or raw semen into the vagina at the entrance to the cervix, usually by means of a needleless syringe. ici is commonly used in the home, by self-insemination and practitioner insemination. sperm used in ici inseminations does not have to be 'washed' to remove seminal fluid so that raw semen from a private donor may be used. semen supplied by a sperm bank prepared for ici or iui use is suitable for ici. ici is a popular method of insemination amongst single and lesbian women purchasing donor sperm on-line. although ici is the simplest method of artificial insemination, a meta-analysis has shown no difference in live birth rates compared with iui. it may also be performed privately by the woman, or, if she has a partner, in the presence of her partner, or by her partner. ici was previously used in many fertility centers as a method of insemination, although its popularity in this context has waned as other, more reliable methods of insemination have become available. during ici, air is expelled from a needleless syringe which is then filled with semen which has been allowed to liquify. a specially-designed syringe, wider and with a more rounded end, may be used for this purpose. any further enclosed air is removed by gently pressing the plunger forward. the woman lies on her back and the syringe is inserted into the vagina. care is optimal when inserting the syringe, so that the tip is as close to the entrance to the cervix as possible. a vaginal speculum may be used for this purpose and a catheter may be attached to the tip of the syringe to ensure delivery of the semen as close to the entrance to the cervix as possible. the plunger is then slowly pushed forward and the semen in the syringe is gently emptied deep into the vagina. it is important that the syringe is emptied slowly for safety and for the best results, bearing in mind that the purpose of the procedure is the replicate as closely as possible a natural deposit of the semen in the vagina. the syringe (and catheter if used) may be left in place for several minutes before removal. the woman can bring herself to orgasm so that the cervix 'dips down' into the pool of semen, again replicating closely vaginal intercourse, and this may improve the success rate. following insemination, fertile sperm will swim through the cervix into the uterus and from there to the fallopian tubes in a natural way as if the sperm had been deposited in the vagina through intercourse. the woman is therefore advised to lie still for about half-an-hour to assist conception. one insemination during a cycle is usually sufficient. additional inseminations during the same cycle may not improve the chances of a pregnancy. ordinary sexual lubricants should not be used in the process, but special fertility or 'sperm-friendly' lubricants can be used for increased ease and comfort. when performed at home without the presence of a professional, aiming the sperm in the vagina at the neck of the cervix may be more difficult to achieve and the effect may be to 'flood' the vagina with semen, rather than to target it specifically at the entrance to the cervix. this procedure is sometimes referred to as 'intravaginal insemination' (ivi). sperm supplied by a sperm bank will be frozen and must be allowed to thaw before insemination. the sealed end of the straw itself must be cut off and the open end of the straw is usually fixed straight on to the tip of the syringe, allowing the contents to be drawn into the syringe. sperm from more than one straw can generally be used in the same syringe. where fresh semen is used, this must be allowed to liquefy before inserting it into the syringe, or alternatively, the syringe may be back-loaded. a conception cap, which is a form of conception device, may be inserted into the vagina following insemination and may be left in place for several hours. using this method, a woman may go about her usual activities while the cervical cap holds the semen in the vagina close to the entrance to the cervix. advocates of this method claim that it increases the chances of conception. one advantage with the conception device is that fresh, non-liquefied semen may be used. the man may ejaculate straight into the cap so that his fresh semen can be inserted immediately into the vagina