Insemination

Insemination is the introduction of sperm (semen) into a female or hermaphrodite's reproductive system in order to fertilize the ovum through sexual reproduction.[1][2] The sperm enters into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an oviparous (egg-laying) animal. Female humans and other mammals are inseminated during sexual intercourse or copulation, but can also be inseminated by artificial insemination.

In humans, the act and form of insemination has legal, moral and interpersonal implications. However, whether insemination takes place naturally or by artificial means, the pregnancy and the progress of it will be the same. Insemination may be called in vivo fertilisation (from in vivo meaning "within the living") because an egg is fertilized inside the body, this is in contrast with in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

  1. ^ Birkhead, Tim R.; Møller, Anders Pape (1998-08-12). Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-054159-4.
  2. ^ Birkhead, Tim (2000). Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-00666-9.