If you had a dependable method for determining the healthiest and most viable conceptus from a cohort of growing preembryos, replacing more than a single one in order to achieve good pregnancy rates would be moot. Sometime in the not-so-distant future, this may be a reality. Taking a step towards that future, An Atlas of Human Blastocysts vividly illustrates the typical and atypical morphology of mammalian blastocysts. The atlas demonstrates that extended culture of blastocysts is now achieveable in the laboratory and points us toward the day when it will be possible to choose between a number of healthy hatched blastocysts. "With the publication of this latest atlas the bar has been raised for future treatises. Although many will value this volume specifically as a reference text, it is more - much more. It is the amalgamation of the expertise of Veeck and Zanuniviae with the expertise of the painstakingly selected contributing authors that makes this volume a comprehensive and valuable treatise on the biology of the human blastocyst. It is a stellar scientific contribution and is the best I have seen on this subject. If you work on reproductive medicine, you must own this book." -- Thomas Pool, Ph.D., Scientific Director, Fertility Center of San Antonio, Texas in Fertility and Sterility, December 2003 "The excitement and reality of clinical and laboratory work are captured by Lucinda Veeck, Nikica Zaninovic, and their collaboratorsThis is a book for those who wish to experience the satisfaction of being certain they are up-to-date regarding extended culture procedures and the complexities of blastocyst development [the book] is a dynamic and authoritative collection of microanatomical examples and definitively captures the earliest events of mammalian development in vitro. an absolute "must-read" for clinicians and scientists working in the field of assisted reproduction." - From the Preface by Howard W. Jones, Jr., M.D. and Georgeanna Seegar Jones, M.D., The Howard and Georgeanna Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, USA Veeck, Lucinda L.; Zaninovic, Nikica