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Human eggs and embryos with abnormalities of the outer shell - the zona pellucida

Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago
Gurnee & Crystal Lake, Illinois

All of these were from in vitro fertilization

"Empty zona" - the cells of the embryo have escaped through a crack in the zona (shell)
The break can be seen by the "X" at 5 o'clock
This zona pellucida is slightly thicker than average

This egg has no zona pellucida around it
Egg is on the lower left, cumulus cells from the ovary are stuck to it on the right
This woman's eggs had other unusual abnormalities as well

This is a 6-cell embryo of high quality (grade)
The zona pellucida is irregularly shaped and thicker than normal
The irregular shape is best seen in the 3 to 6 o'clock area

This is a 4-cell embryo of high quality
The zona pellucida is thicker than normal
Assisted hatching was done prior to embryo transfer

The zona here is unusually thin

A high grade 4-cell embryo with a normal zona

More embryo images