Editing In vitro fertilisation (section)

==Terminology==
The Latin term [[in vitro]], meaning "in glass", is used because early biological experiments involving cultivation of tissues outside the living organism were carried out in glass containers, such as beakers, test tubes, or Petri dishes. The modern scientific term "in vitro" refers to any biological procedure that is performed outside the organism in which it would normally have occurred, to distinguish it from an [[in vivo]] procedure (such as [[insemination|in vivo fertilisation]]), where the tissue remains inside the living organism in which it is normally found.

A colloquial term for babies conceived as the result of IVF, "test tube babies", refers to the tube-shaped containers of glass or plastic resin, called [[test tube]]s, that are commonly used in chemistry and biology labs. However, IVF is usually performed in [[Petri dish]]es, which are both wider and shallower and often used to cultivate cultures.

IVF is a form of [[assisted reproductive technology]].