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Abstract

The rat has been used by reproductive biologists as an animal model for many years. Intensive studies have been carried out using rat oocytes (Austin, 1961) to study the resumption of meiosis (reviewed by Tsafriri, 1985), in vitro maturation of oocytes in culture or enclosed in a follicle, ovulation, and the hormonal control of this process (reviewed by Dekel, 1986). Studies on spermiogenesis and sperm maturation as well as endocrinology of the male have also employed the rat as an animal model (reviewed by Bedford, 1975; Bardin et al., 1988; Eddy et al., 1988). With the accumulated information already obtained for both the male and the female gamete, the rat could clearly serve as an ideal animal for studying the process of fertilization. This review attempts to summarize our current knowledge of fertilization in the rat in vitro as compared to fertilization in vivo.

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Shalgi, R. (1991). Fertilization in the Rat. In: Dunbar, B.S., O’Rand, M.G. (eds) A Comparative Overview of Mammalian Fertilization. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-8982-9_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-8982-9_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-8984-3

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