Overview Endometrium is the mucus membrane that lines the inside of the uterus. During ovulatory cycles, the endometrium undergoes cyclic changes and prepares for implantation. If implantation fails to occur, the endometrium sheds as a part of the menstrual cycle. A large body of data suggests that an efficient embryo-uterine “cross-talk” is critical for initiation and progression of successful implantation in humans.1,2 This cross talk is recognized by a synchronous development and interaction between a hatched blastocyst and endometrium which serves to orchestrate implantation-related events during both natural and assisted conception cycles.3 Normally, the endometrium is non-receptive for an embryo. However, it becomes receptive for a particular period of time—called the implantation window—due to the influence of steroid hormones and paracrine signals from the developing embryo. While there is no consensus regarding the dates and duration of this implantation window, endometrial receptivity is believed to be optimal between cycle days…
Overview Infertility is a worldwide problem, and affects an estimated 15% of couples globally, amounting to 48.5 million couples.1 Limited data available on the regionwise prevalence of infertility suggest that the prevalence of infertility is higher in the underdeveloped nations, probable due to limited availability of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities.2 Infertility may be due to female factors alone (approximately 50% of cases), male factors alone (20-30%) or due to a combination of male and female factors (20-30%).1 Thus a male factor is directly or indirectly responsible for 40-60% of cases involving reproductive-age couples with fertility-related issues.2 Nevertheless, examination and treatment of the male partner in a case of infertility is often neglected or postponed.2 Evaluation of the male partner concurrently with the female partner is of utmost importance in all cases of infertility and should not be underestimated.3 Infertile couples often first approach a gynecologist for treatment. Because half of…
