Fertility & Pregnancy Definitions
Agglutination – a reaction in which particles (such as red blood cells, bacteria or sperm) suspended in a liquid collect into clumps and which occurs especially as a serological response to a specific antibody
Amenorrhea – abnormal absence or suppression of menstruation
Anencephaly – congenital absence of all or a major part of the brain
Anovulatory - not associated with or involving ovulation, such as anovulatory bleeding; suppressing ovulation, as in anovulatory drugs
Artificial Insemination - introduction of semen into the uterus or fallopian tubes by other than natural means
Asthenospermia – sperm motility seriously affected
Azoospermia – sperm absent in the ejaculate
BBT – Basal body temperature
Corpus Luteum - (Latin: “yellow body”) a yellowish mass of progesterone-secreting endocrine tissue that forms immediately after ovulation and that regresses rather quickly if the ovum is not fertilized but persists throughout the ensuing pregnancy if it is fertilized
Dysmenorrhea – painful menstruation
Endometriosis – the presence and growth of functioning endometrial tissue in places other than the uterus that often results in severe pain and infertility
Endometrium - the mucous membrane lining the uterus that is composed of three layers
Estrogen - hormones that are that are secreted chiefly by the ovaries, placenta, and adipose tissue, that promote the growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system
EWCM – Egg-white cervical mucus
Fallopian Tubes – pair of tubes that carry the eggs from the ovary to the uterus
Fecundity - capable of producing, not sterile or barren
Fimbria - bordering fringe at the entrance of the fallopian tubes
Follicle – a vesicle in the ovary that contains a developing egg surrounded by a covering of cells
FSH – Follicle stimulating hormone
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) - hormone similar in structure to luteinizing hormone that is secreted by the placenta during early pregnancy to maintain corpus luteum function and stimulate placental progesterone production; found in the urine and blood serum of pregnant women and is commonly tested for as an indicator of pregnancy
Hydatidiform Mole (or h.mole) – a rare mass or growth that may form inside the uterus at the beginning of a pregnancy
Hyperemesis Gravidarum – uncontrollable nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that results in severe dehydration and pH imbalances in the blood
Intrauterine Insemination - introduction of semen into the uterus by other than natural means
Luteal Phase - also referred to as ‘days past ovulation’ or ‘DPO’, is the portion of the cycle that begins at ovulation and ends the day before your next period
Luteinizing Hormone (LH) – hormone that stimulates the development of the corpus luteum, and together with follicle-stimulating hormone, the secretion of progesterone
Menorrhagia – abnormally heavy menstrual flow
Menstruation – Cyclical bleeding from the uterus
Mittelschmerz – abdominal pain occurring between menstrual periods usually considered to be associated with ovulation
Necrospermia – immobile or dead sperm in ejaculate
Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) - one of the most common birth defects, results when the neural tube, which includes the spinal cord and brain, fails to close during the first month of embryonic development
Oligospermia – low sperm count
Ovulation - the discharge of a mature ovum from the ovary
Periconceptional Period – the period from three months prior to pregnancy to the third month of pregnancy
Progesterone – hormone secreted by the corpus luteum to prepare the endometrium for implantation and later by the placenta during pregnancy to prevent rejection of the developing embryo or fetus
Spinnbarkeit – the elastic quality that is characteristic of cervical mucus shortly before ovulation
TTC – Trying to conceive
Varicocele – a varicose enlargement of the veins of the spermatic cord producing a soft compressible tumor mass in the scrotum
Varicocelectomy - surgical treatment of varicocele by excision of the affected veins, often with removal of part of the scrotum
