In vitro development of human ovocytes collected during spontaneous ovulation. Effect of the biochemical composition of the follicular fluids

: Development of the in vitro cultured and fertilized ovocyte appears to be improved when progesterone and estrogen concentrations in the follicular fluid are above 2 000 and 1 000 ng/ml respectively, with a A/E ratio under 1 and a PGE/PGF ratio above 0.8. Such criteria are only infrequently fulfilled: once in seven cases. They were found in one of the two patients who had a pregnancy after in vitro fertilization during induced ovulation. Division of ovocytes from spontaneous ovulation was recorded in several instances in spite of a less propitious composition of the follicular fluid.