Blastocyst embryo pictures and photos from IVF, In Vitro
Fertilization
Page 1 of 2 of grading and pictures of blastocysts from IVF
Advanced
Fertility Center of Chicago
Gurnee & Crystal Lake, Illinois
IVF Specialist
Clinic
Definition of a blastocyst:
A blastocyst is an embryo which has developed to the point of having 2 different
cell components and a fluid cavity.
Human embryos, in culture in an IVF lab, or developing naturally in the female
body, usually reach the blastocyst stage by day 5 after fertilization.
Blastocyst transfer with IVF can give high pregnancy success rates with
very low risk of triplets.
Our Overall IVF Success Rates
Our
Blastocyst Transfer IVF Success Rates
Blastocyst picture of a high quality human blastocyst
embryo 5 days after in vitro fertilization
The clump of cells in the 10 to 12 o'clock area in the picture make up the inner cell mass which become the
fetus (see below)
Another picture of a high quality human blastocyst
The cells which will become the fetus are in the area marked as "ICM" (inner cell mass)
The blastocoel cavity in the center is marked as "C"
The trophectoderm cells that will form the placenta surround the cavity - one is marked
with a "T"
Blastocyst Development and Blastocyst Quality Grading (or scoring)
There are three distinct parts to a blastocyst - the two cell types and the
fluid cavity. As development of blastocysts progresses, the cells in each of the 2
components divide and the fluid cavity enlarges. With continued blastocyst
development the embryo expands, the shell thins, and it hatches out of its
shell. Our IVF clinic and many others that do blastocyst culture and transfer use a
blastocyst scoring system originally developed and published by Dr. David
Gardner in the late 1990's. Dr. Gardner is well known for being first to develop
a commercially available embryo culture media system that supported high rates of viable blastocyst
development. There are other grading systems for blastocysts , but this
one is the most widely used.
This blastocyst grading system assigns 3
separate quality scores to each blastocyst embryo:
-
Blastocyst development stage - expansion and hatching status
-
Inner cell mass (ICM) score, or quality
-
Trophectoderm (TE) score, or quality
Expansion
grade |
Blastocyst development and stage status |
| 1 |
Blastocoel cavity less than half the volume of
the embryo |
| 2 |
Blastocoel cavity more than half the volume of
the embryo |
| 3 |
Full blastocyst, cavity completely filling the
embryo |
| 4 |
Expanded blastocyst, cavity larger than the
embryo, with thinning of the shell |
| 5 |
Hatching out of the shell |
| 6 |
Hatched out of the shell |
|
ICM grade |
Inner cell mass
quality
|
| A |
Many cells, tightly packed |
| B |
Several cells, loosely grouped |
| C |
Very few cells |
|
TE grade |
Trophectoderm
quality |
| A |
Many cells, forming a cohesive layer |
| B |
Few cells, forming a loose epithelium |
| C |
Very few large cells |
Blastocysts are given a quality grade for each of the 3 components and the score
is expressed with the expansion grade listed first, the inner cell mass grade
listed second and the trophectoderm grade third. For example, a blastocyst
quality grade
of 4AB means that the blastocyst is
expanded (grade 4), has many tightly packed cells in the inner cell mass (grade
A), and has a trophectoderm with few cells forming a loose epithelium (grade B).
See blastocyst grading pictures below:
Early blastocyst grading pictures:
 |
 |
 |
|
Early blastocyst |
Early blastocyst |
1AB |
Cavity very small
= Can't yet grade
Inner cell mass = Can't yet grade
Trophectoderm = Can't yet grade |
Cavity very small
= Can't yet grade
Inner cell mass = Can't yet grade
Trophectoderm = Can't yet grade |
Cavity less than
1/2 embryo's volume = 1
Inner cell mass = A
Trophectoderm = B |
Intermediate blastocyst grading pictures:
 |
 |
 |
|
2BB |
2BC |
3BB |
Cavity more than
1/2 embryo's volume = 2
Inner cell mass = B
Trophectoderm = B |
Cavity more than
1/2 embryo's volume = 2
Inner cell mass = B
Trophectoderm = C |
Cavity completely
fills embryo = 3
Inner cell mass = B
Trophectoderm = B |
Large, well expanded blastocyst grading pictures:
|
 |
| 5AA |
Blastocyst hatching out of shell
= 5
Inner cell mass = A
Trophectoderm = A |
In the lower left the blastocyst and inner cell mass are seen inside
its shell
At the upper right of the picture the blastocyst is hatching out of its
shell
Hatching blastocyst grading pictures:
Picture of another hatching blastocyst on day 6 of in vitro culture
It is almost completely hatched out of its shell, or zona pellucida (seen at
lower left of image)
After the blastocyst hatches, it begins to invade into the uterine lining to
"implant"
This embryo has a quality grade of 5AA (inner cell mass seen at the bottom is
out of the plane of focus)
The dark areas at the top and lower right of the photo are shadows in the
drop of culture media
A healthy blastocyst will implant within about one to
two
days following IVF transfer, very soon after blastocyst hatching
More pictures of blastocysts
Pictures of human eggs
and embryos at other stages of development
| 
