This atlas covers the origins of the morphology of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) including advances made since 1978. It is the combined effort of three world renowned scientists: an embryologist, a reproductive scientist, and a gynecologist. They helped develop the successful IVF program in Australia, which has the largest collection of electron micrographs of human sperm in the world. This volume brings together the results of intensive research on the ultrastructural aspects of human in vitro fertilization, where over 300 preovulatory eggs, both normal and abnormal, have been assessed for maturation, fertilization, and early development. These electron microscopy studies--combined with such noninvasive methods as phase and interference microscopy--provide the basis for improving and simplifying IVF techniques.