AIH to ZPD! A glance at the acronyms listed in the Appendix of this work reveals many terms likely to have been developed over the past two decades. During that time tremendous advances have been made in the understanding of reproductive physiology and in the ability to help couples having difficulty in initiating a pregnancy. At the beginning of that era concepts such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection, polymerase chain reaction and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis would have been considered in the realm of science fiction, whereas they have now become common and useful techniques which have aided thousands of patients. Standards of care have gone through an evolution. No longer is treatment limited to a few relatively crude techniques, but now many new drugs, procedures and microtechniques have become available to address even the most difficult of problems.

Dr. Godwin Meniru, an experienced and recognized authority in assisted reproductive technology has accepted the challenge of producing a work that will provide information as to the current state of knowledge and techniques to the various groups for whom it will be of value. In his introduction he defines the scope of the problem indicating how common it is. Changing demographics have often made the need for a solution more urgent than previously since many women have postponed childbearing to a more advanced age because of career demands and/or late marriage.