James and Sally wanted to have a baby but were not having any luck, so they decided to try an artificial means of conception. They eventually were directed to a laboratory, where sperm and eggs were placed in a dish. This allows a sperm to merge with the egg as it would in the oviduct. This procedure is called ________.
A) surrogate motherhood
B) gamete intrafallopian transfer
C) zygote intrafallopian transfer
D) in vitro fertilization

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In vitro fertilization (IVF) involves fertilizing an egg with sperm outside of the body, in a laboratory dish. This is the procedure that James and Sally likely underwent to try to conceive. Option A is incorrect because surrogate motherhood involves implanting an embryo into another woman's uterus, not fertilization in a laboratory dish. Option B (gamete intrafallopian transfer) and option C (zygote intrafallopian transfer) both involve placing the fertilized egg or zygote into the woman's fallopian tubes rather than allowing it to develop in the laboratory, so they are not the best choices in this scenario.

James and Sally Wanted to Have a Baby but Were