PHYSIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL ASPECTS OF CONCEPTION

Abstract

Medical research in the past few decades has made great strides, and as a result many physiological and pathological processes have been clarified to a remarkable degree. Yet, some of the most basic biological phenomena have stubbornly resisted laboratory and clinical investgation, with real progress occurring only in slow and painstaking stages. In this class is the phenomenon of human reproduction. Although there have been numerous and varied recent attempts to elaborate on the mechanism of this complicated process, there is much that is still obscure. This report reviews certain of the known aspects of normal reproduction and attempts to correlate these with a number of conditions found in clinical infertility. In the male, endocrine stimulation from the anterior pituitary is responsible for normal testicular function, including the production of male sex hormone or hormones and sperm. The pituitary follicle-stimulating fraction (F. S. H.), under hypothalamic influence, is believed to