Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, also known as child-onset, IDDM (insulin dependent diabetes mellitus), or juvenile diabetes is a condition where the body cannot process sugar. This is due to a problem with an organ call the pancreas. Normally the pancreas makes a hormone called insulin, which allows cells to access glucose in the blood stream. In a type 1 diabetic, no insulin is made, so no glucose can get into the cells. Without power, the cells cannot function. To cut a long story short, a diabetic must take regular replacement insulin. This can be done either with multiple daily injections, or an insulin infusion pump.
Check out the wikipedia page here.
IVF
In-Vitro Fertilisation basically means the fertilisation of an egg outside of the human body. The process involves the woman taking hormones to stimulate ovulation, which may be check with ultrasound. The eggs are then removed in a short operation, and fertilised with sperm from the man. The fertilised eggs are incubated for several days, and then one or more viable embryos are implanted back into the woman in a second operation. The rest occurs as per a normal pregnancy. Extra embryos may be frozen and stored for future use.
ICSI
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is a method of fertilising an egg in the lab. An egg is held steady on one site of a petri-dish, and a needle is used to inject a single sperm into the egg, ensuring fertilisation.
Sperm Retrieval
TESE describes the process of removing a small piece of testicular tissue from which sperm can be collected and used for ICSI.
PESE is a method of collecting sperm from the testes using a needle to collect it directly from the epididymis.
Vasectomy
A surgical procedure in the male that involves severing and typing (or clipping) the vas deferens, to prevent sperm from entering the ejaculate. This is the cause of all our present woes.
Ob/gyn
Obstetrician slash gynocologist, how I refer to this particular doctor in my blog.
Endo
Endocrinologist, how I refer to my diabetes endocrinologist specialist.
