The oviduct: A key organ for the success of early reproductive events

Abstract

Assisted reproduction techniques are in vitro techniques that are widely used in many species, where they have both health and economic importance. During recent decades, there have been great improvements in such techniques, including gamete manipulation, cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization, and embryo in vitro production; however, the efficacy of these techniques is far from optimal compared with the situation in vivo. Since final maturation of gametes, fertilization, and early embryo cleavage in vivo occurs in the oviduct, it is proposed that a wider knowledge of the oviductal environment would help to increase the efficiency of assisted reproduction techniques by translating natural conditions into the laboratory.