Insemination

Insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an oviparous (egg-laying) animal for the objective of impregnating a female for reproduction. Insemination normally takes place during, and as the result of, sexual intercourse between a male and a female, when semen is ejaculated by the male into the female's reproductive tract, but can take place in ways not involving sexual intercourse.

Insemination by sexual intercourse is commonly referred to as natural insemination. In humans, insemination is most commonly performed by sexual intercourse with a male sexual partner of the female's choice, and sometimes not of her choosing. (See: sexual selection.) It can also be performed by a sperm donor. In most cultures intravaginal insemination by a male other than the female's normal sex partner is subject to social and sexual inhibitions and taboos, and has legal, moral and interpersonal implications. The incidence of intravaginal insemination by sperm donor is not known, because the arrangements is usually informal and all parties prefer to keep the arrangement confidential.

Artificial insemination has been and continues to be commonly used in livestock breeding as an efficient way of increasing breeding. With artificial insemination, sperm is used to impregnate the female by direct deposit into the female's reproductive tract. Similar techniques are used in the case of humans, where sperm from a female's male partner or from a sperm donor can be used to impregnate the female. Artificial insemination is available, for example, to females to whom insemination by sexual intercourse is not viable, as in the case of the female not having a male sexual partner, is in a lesbian relationship, the partner is impotent, the partner has died or the partner has some sexual or hereditary disability. Artificial insemination is also at times performed if a female cannot, for any of a number of reasons, conceive by sexual intercourse. There are laws in some countries which restrict and regulate who is able to receive artificial insemination.

In various other animal species, sperms are introduced into the female's reproductive tract by various means. For example, sperm can be introduced violently by traumatic insemination, parenteral injection through the body wall, such as in some species of hemiptera. In some species of animals, sperms finds its way through the body wall when the spermatophore is left in contact with the female's skin, such as in the onychophora.

See also

• Fertilization
• Assisted reproductive technology
• Conception device
• Traumatic insemination
• Artificial insemination
• Sperm donation

External links

• Photos of Honeybee´s insemination