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Brooke Shields: Opening Up

Glossary and Infertility Information You Can Use

Gonads: Glands that make the gametes (testicles and ovaries).

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG): The hormone produced in early pregnancy that keeps the corpus luteum producing progesterone. Also used via injection to trigger ovulation after some fertility treatments, and used in men to stimulate testosterone production.

Hypogonadism: Inadequate ovarian or testicular function as shown by low sperm production or lack of follicle production, as well as low or absent levels of FSH and LH.

Hypothalamus: The gland at the base of the brain that controls the release of hormones from the pituitary glands.

Hysteroscopy: A visual examination of the uterus using an instrument called a hysteroscope, which enables the doctor to see into the organ without making a large incision.

Idiopathic infertility: The term used to explain when the cause of infertility cannot be explained.

Infertility: The inability to conceive after a year of unprotected intercourse (six months if the woman is over age 35) or the inability to carry a pregnancy to term.

Implantation (embryo): The embedding of the embryo into tissue so it can establish contact with the mother's blood supply for nourishment.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): A micromanipulation (occurring under the microscope) procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into the egg to enable fertilization with very low sperm counts or with non-motile sperm (sperm that don't swim effectively toward the egg). The embryo is then cultured and transferred to the uterus after three to five days.

Intramuscular (IM) needle: A needle designed to administer medication deep into the muscle. Injections of this type are usually given in the thigh or upper buttock area.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI): A procedure in which a doctor places sperm directly into the uterus through the cervix using a catheter.

Want to see more?

• Fertility Success: One Woman's Story
• Helping Hands: Groups That Navigate the Infertility Roller Coaster
• Beyond Blood Tests and Hormone Levels: What to Expect From Invasive Infertility Diagnosis and Treatment
• Talk about it!