How does fertilization takes place

Hormones secreted by the hypothalamus, the pituitary and the ovary are the messengers that regulate the menstrual cycle. High-risk pregnancy. Infertility in men. Infertility in women. Donor Sperm Insemination. Intrauterine Insemination IUI. Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis. Patient Education. To become pregnant , the following steps must occur: Sperm transport — The sperm must be deposited and transported to the site of fertilization.

Egg transport — Ovulation must occur and the egg must be "picked up" by the tube. Fertilization and embryo development — Union between the sperm and egg must result. Implantation — The embryo must implant and begin to grow in the uterus.

These steps are described below. Sperm Transport The transport of sperm depends on several factors: The sperm must be capable of propelling themselves through the environment of the female vagina and cervix. This environment, which is under cyclic hormonal control, must be favorable to admit the sperm without destroying them. The sperm must possess the capability of converting to a form that can penetrate the cell membrane of the egg capacitation.

Egg Transport Egg transport begins at ovulation and ends once the egg reaches the uterus. Fertilization and Embryo Development Following ovulation, the egg is capable of fertilization for only 12 to 24 hours. Implantation Once the embryo reaches the blastocyst stage, approximately five to six days after fertilization, it hatches out of its zona pellucida and begins the process of implantation in the uterus.

Recommended reading. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. While you release only a single egg each month, your partner releases millions of sperm in a single ejaculation — all with an eye on that single prize. But only one of those sperm will be crowned the victor, and the odds are stacked against fertilization. Luckily, egg and sperm have developed some pretty cool tricks to give themselves a fighting chance.

Read on to find out how fertilization actually works. However, fertilization actually occurs in the fallopian tubes. Each sperm has a single goal: to meet up with the egg.

To reach the target, though, a sperm cell has to go on a lengthy and strenuous journey. First, it must make its way from the vagina to the cervix, and then it has to swim through the uterus to the fallopian tubes.

Once there, if the sperm is the lucky one, it will penetrate the egg and fertilize it. The newly fertilized egg now called a zygote will make its way from the fallopian tubes to the uterus.

There, it will hopefully implant in the uterine wall and grow into a baby. Most of the time, implantation occurs in the uterus as it should. However, sometimes the fertilized egg implants and grows somewhere outside of the uterus. This is called an ectopic pregnancy. Usually, an ectopic pregnancy occurs in a fallopian tube which is why you may have heard of it being called a tubal pregnancy , but it may also happen in an ovary, the cervix or even the abdomen.

Since none of those areas has the right tissue or the space to accommodate a growing pregnancy, an ectopic pregnancy is not a viable pregnancy. For fertilization to happen, the timing and conditions must be just right. If all this goes well, what fertilized egg becomes a zygote 1,7.

The egg now contains all the genetic material it will need to become a person. It takes about days for the fertilized egg to travel to the uterus and attach to the uterus in a process known as implantation 1,8.

The egg is pushed back towards the uterus by the cilia 1. The egg must attach to the uterus to become a viable pregnancy. While traveling to the uterus, the egg has been dividing and forming a few different structures 7. Once that barrier is broken down, the blastocyst can attach to the endometrium 1. Sometimes, though, a fertilized eggs can't make it to implantation. These losses generally aren't considered miscarriages, as most healthcare professionals consider a pregnancy to have begun at implantation.

However, people who think or know they lost a fertilized egg such as people using artificial reproductive technologies may consider this to be akin to a more traditional miscarriage. Sometimes, the egg attaches somewhere else, like to the fallopian tube, and the pregnancy will not be viable. This is called an ectopic pregnancy and should be treated as a medical emergency. Although it can go wrong, it's pretty amazing how often our bodies do get it right.

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Home Knowledge-center Fertility How does fertilization take place human beings. How does Fertilization take place in Human Beings? When does fertilization take place? Also, fertilization takes place in the fallopian tubes instead of inside the ovary. Where does implantation occur? Where does the fetus grow and develop? Related Content. More From This Category. Know all about Ectopic Pregnancy and its Treatment by Gy