Embryo Project Encyclopedia Images

“Test-tube baby” is a term used to refer to a baby produced through artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization, also called IVF. During artificial insemination, a physician injects carefully selected sperm into a women’s uterus to fertilize her eggs. During IVF, a trained professional harvests eggs from a female donor. Those eggs are fertilized with carefully selected sperm in a petri dish. Those fertilized eggs are allowed to divide and grow in the dish for four days, at which point the trained professional inserts those eggs into the uterus of a female so she can carry the pregnancy.