Sometimes, a small sample of tissue may be taken with small tools inserted through the vagina during a transvaginal ultrasound. In all three types of pelvic ultrasound, the transducer sends the reflected sound waves to a computer, which makes them into a picture that is shown on a video screen.
So the number of egg-containing follicles remaining in the ovary undergoes a steady decline from an average of 400,000 eggs at age eighteen to an average of 25,000 eggs by age thirty-seven. After age thirtyseven or thirty-eight, there is then a very dramatic acceleration of the monthly decline of remaining eggs.
We generally try to get about 10-18 eggs at the egg retrieval procedure. IVF success rates correlate with the number of eggs retrieved. There are several ovarian stimulation medication protocols that are used to pump up the ovaries to make enough follicles and eggs. Without stimulating medications, the ovaries make and release only 1 mature egg per menstrual cycle (month).