| Pelvic Adhesions - Scar tissue occurring in the abdominal cavity, fallopian tubes, or inside the uterus. Adhesions can interfere with the function of the fallopian tube, affecting transport of the egg. Scar tissue in the uterus can interfere with implantation of the embryo in the uterus. Adhesions may result from previous injuries, infections or endometriosis.
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| Pelvic cavity - The area of the abdomen surrounded by the pelvic bone that contains the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries in women, and the prostate gland and seminal vesicles in men.
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| Pituitary gland - The endocrine gland at the base of the brain that produces the gonadotropin luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone, which in turn stimulate the gonads to produce sex cells and hormones. |
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| Polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) - A condition found among women in which increased androgen production causes multiple small cysts to persist on the ovaries. There is an imbalance in the amount of LH and FSH released during the menstrual cycle, resulting in lack of ovulation |
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| Post-coital test (PCT) - Microscopic examination of a woman's cervical mucus at the fertile time of the cycle to determine the number and motility of sperm following intercourse. A highly controversial test due to it’s lack of predictive value. |
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| Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - A procedure done in conjunction with IVF that allows the selection and transfer of unaffected embryos and avoids the need for terminating an affected pregnancy after diagnosis at later stages of gestation. To analyze for the presence of a genetic defect, it is necessary to remove the first polar body of an unfertilized egg and/or a cell or cells from each embryo. This is called an egg or embryo biopsy and is usually done before insemination occurs, or 3 days after fertilization. Biopsy of one or two cells at the 8-cell stage does not adversely affect preimplantation development.
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