Editing Insemination (section)

{{Short description|Introduction of semen or sperm into the genital tract of a female animal}}

'''Insemination''' is the introduction of [[spermatozoon|sperm]] (in [[semen]]) into a female or hermaphrodite's [[reproductive system]] in order to [[Fertilization|fertilize]] the [[ovum]] through [[sexual reproduction]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Birkhead |first1=Tim R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhvmHW972mAC&q=insemination |title=Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection |last2=Møller |first2=Anders Pape |date=1998-08-12 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-054159-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Birkhead |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3i4Q8SvohfEC&q=insemination |title=Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition |date=2000 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00666-9 |language=en}}</ref> The sperm enters into the [[uterus]] of a [[mammal]] or the [[oviduct]] of an [[oviparous]] (egg-laying) animal. Female humans and other mammals are inseminated during [[sexual intercourse]] or [[Copulation (zoology)|copulation]], but can also be inseminated by [[artificial insemination]].

In humans, the act and form of insemination has legal, moral and interpersonal implications. However, whether insemination takes place naturally or by artificial means, the pregnancy and the progress of it will be the same. Insemination may be called '''in vivo fertilisation''' (from ''[[in vivo]]'' meaning "within the living") because an [[ovum|egg]] is fertilized inside the body, this is in contrast with [[in vitro fertilisation]] (IVF).