Uterine Receptivity

Abstract

Reduced uterine receptivity can play a major role in human infertility, particularly following ovarian stimulation as occurs during ovulation induction and IVF. Many of the conventional histological and morphological markers used to identify normal progestational changes in the human uterus are inadequate as markers of uterine receptivity for implantation, and new techniques including ultrasound and morphometric measurement will be required. At the same time, a'better understanding of the cellular processes involved in human implantation is required if we are to identify markers of uterine receptivity. Recent observations suggest that the uterus is normally a barrier to embryo implantation and that uterine receptivity is in fact the loss of this barrier function, rather than the acquisition of new structural or functional capabilities.