Clinical & lab terms
OvaFlow safeguards
Separates medical clearance from insurance approval so neither is mistaken for the other before cycle day one.
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The words you will hear, in plain language.
105 terms: 76 from IVF care and 29 from OvaFlow itself. Definitions are general and educational, not medical advice. Your clinic will explain your own plan.
How the vocabulary fits together
Where clinical milestones and coordination safeguards meet.
An IVF cycle combines biological milestones in the clinic and embryology lab with explicit handoff, verification and source-control steps. Select any term badge below to jump straight to its definition.
Stage-by-stage term map & worked Elena Rivera traceStages 01–10 · clinical vs. OvaFlow safeguards
Clinical & lab terms
Anchors every dose or trigger-time change to a clinician-signed order and tracks real elapsed hours across clock changes.
Clinical & lab terms
OvaFlow safeguards
Tracks multi-day lab milestones and biopsy accessions as expected results while keeping physical witnessing inside the lab's own system.
Clinical & lab terms
OvaFlow safeguards
Keeps ownership explicit until the receiving OB team accepts, and immediately halts routine reminders when a cycle pauses or ends.
Decoding common chart shorthand & lab notes5 worked translations · clinical vs. plain language
What you see on the portal or sheetClinical / laboratory meaningIn plain language
Serum estradiol, progesterone and luteinizing hormone lab panel
Morning blood tests that show how follicles are growing and whether your body is getting close to ovulating.
Cumulus-oocyte complexes retrieved, mature metaphase II eggs, fertilized zygotes
14 eggs collected at retrieval, 11 mature enough to fertilize, and 9 fertilized normally the next morning.
Blastocyst stage reached on Day 5 or 6 with trophectoderm biopsy
Embryos that reached the five-to-seven-day blastocyst stage and had a few outer cells gently sampled for genetic testing.
Elective single embryo transfer in a modified-natural frozen cycle
Transferring one warmed embryo timed to your body's natural ovulation cycle rather than a fully medicated schedule.
Staged coordination draft awaiting clinician or nurse verification in the clinic EMR
OvaFlow prepared the draft beside the chart, and a qualified staff member still reviews and sends it in the clinic's own system.
A
- AccessionIVF term
A lab's registration of a sample it received. An accession hold means the lab needs something corrected first.
- AI abstentionOvaFlow term
The explicit design rule where an assistive model refuses to draft or summarize and shows a missing-input notice whenever source records are incomplete, conflicting or outside clinical boundaries.
- AMHAlso: Anti-Müllerian hormoneIVF term
A blood test measuring hormone produced by small developing follicles in the ovaries. Clinicians review AMH alongside antral follicle count and age to estimate how the ovaries may respond to stimulation medicines.
- AndrologyIVF term
The lab work and care related to sperm.
- Antral follicle countAlso: AFCIVF term
A baseline transvaginal ultrasound count of the small resting fluid-filled sacs visible in both ovaries early in a cycle, used with AMH to tailor stimulation dosing and watch for over-response risk.
- Assisted hatchingIVF term
A laboratory micromanipulation technique—typically using a calibrated laser pulse—to create a small opening in the embryo's outer shell (zona pellucida) prior to biopsy or transfer.
B
- Beta-hCGAlso: BetaIVF term
A blood test that detects pregnancy.
- Biochemical pregnancyIVF term
A very early pregnancy loss detected by a temporary rise in beta-hCG blood levels that resolves before a gestational sac can be seen on ultrasound.
- BlastocystIVF term
An embryo at about five to seven days of development.
C
- Chain of custodyIVF term
The record of who held stored material and when, including when it moves between facilities.
- Cleavage-stage embryoAlso: Day 3 embryoIVF term
An early embryo on Day 2 or Day 3 after retrieval that is dividing into four to eight cells prior to compaction and blastocyst cavity formation.
- Clinic's own systemOvaFlow term
The clinic's own EMR, portal, lab or pharmacy system. OvaFlow is designed to work beside it rather than replace it.
- Clinical pregnancyIVF term
A pregnancy confirmed by ultrasound visualization of one or more gestational sacs or fetal heart motion, distinct from an initial biochemical blood test.
- CompanionOvaFlow term
OvaFlow's compact panel beside the chart, which opens into a full workspace on the same task.
- Conventional IVF inseminationIVF term
Placing a measured concentration of motile sperm together with cumulus-enclosed eggs in a culture dish, used when male-factor or other specific indications for ICSI are not present.
- Corpus luteumIVF term
The temporary hormone-producing structure formed in the ovary after ovulation that secretes endogenous progesterone, estradiol and vasoactive factors during early pregnancy.
- Coverage acceptedOvaFlow term
The receiving person explicitly accepted a named piece of work. Only that scope moves.
- Coverage offeredOvaFlow term
Someone has been asked to take over a piece of work. Until they accept, the current owner is responsible.
- CryopreservationAlso: CryoIVF term
Freezing eggs, sperm or embryos for long-term storage.
- Cryopreservation carrierAlso: Cryo straw, CryodeviceIVF term
The labeled micro-carrier on which vitrified eggs or embryos are loaded and stored at recorded tank, canister, cane and goblet coordinates in liquid nitrogen.
- Cumulus-oocyte complexAlso: COCIVF term
The retrieved egg surrounded by its cloud of nurturing granulosa cells as first identified by the embryologist in follicular fluid at retrieval.
- Cycle cancellation or IUI conversionIVF term
A clinician-led decision with the patient to stop ovarian stimulation or convert a planned retrieval into an intrauterine insemination cycle when follicle response is unexpectedly low or unsafe.
D
- Daylight-saving changeOvaFlow term
When clocks change between the trigger and the retrieval (for example from PDT to PST), the wall-clock difference and the actual elapsed time differ by an hour. Each time needs its offset, such as PDT or PST, to be counted correctly.
- Discharge ownerOvaFlow term
The named person responsible for follow-up after someone goes home from a procedure.
- DispositionIVF term
A decision about what happens to stored embryos or eggs. It needs the right people's agreement before anything is done.
- DonorIVF term
A person who provides eggs, sperm or embryos for someone else's treatment. Later health updates may need to reach every clinic holding related material.
- Downtime reconciliationOvaFlow term
The structured line-by-line review after an EMR or network outage where paper logs and time-stamped phone confirmations are checked against the chart before automated queues resume.
E
- E-prescribingAlso: eRxIVF term
Sending prescriptions electronically from the clinic's own system. Prescribing and dose changes happen there, by a clinician. OvaFlow never prescribes or sends doses.
- Ectopic pregnancyIVF term
A pregnancy that implants outside the uterine cavity—most commonly in a fallopian tube—requiring prompt medical or surgical care because it cannot progress safely.
- Egg retrievalAlso: Retrieval, ERIVF term
A short procedure, usually under sedation, to collect eggs from the ovaries.
- Elective single embryo transferAlso: eSETIVF term
Transferring one selected embryo at a time—while vitrifying remaining viable blastocysts—to reduce twin and higher-order multiple pregnancy risks.
- EmbryoIVF term
A fertilized egg in the early days of development.
- Embryo biopsyIVF term
Removing a few cells from an embryo for genetic testing. One embryo can have more than one biopsy record.
- EndometriumAlso: Uterine liningIVF term
The inner lining of the uterus whose thickness and three-layer pattern are checked by ultrasound before scheduling a fresh or frozen embryo transfer.
- EstradiolIVF term
A hormone measured in blood tests during monitoring.
- Expected resultOvaFlow term
A result that should arrive, tracked so its absence is noticed rather than mistaken for nothing to do.
F
- Fertility preservationIVF term
Freezing eggs, sperm or embryos for later use, sometimes urgently before a treatment such as chemotherapy.
- FETAlso: Frozen embryo transferIVF term
Placing a warmed, previously frozen embryo in the uterus, in a later cycle.
- Four-step EMR operation contractOvaFlow term
The explicit Prepare, Validate, Commit and Reconcile sequence that governs how every chart-facing action is staged, checked, written in the clinic's own EMR and confirmed back.
- Freeze-allIVF term
A clinician's decision to freeze all embryos instead of doing a fresh transfer in the same cycle.
- FSHAlso: Follicle-stimulating hormoneIVF term
A pituitary hormone—and the active ingredient in many daily injectable stimulation medicines—that prompts a group of ovarian follicles to grow during an IVF or egg-freezing cycle.
G
- Gestational carrierIVF term
A person who carries a pregnancy for intended parents, with their own role, chart and consent.
- GnRH agonistAlso: Leuprolide triggerIVF term
A medication class used either for pituitary suppression in long protocols or as a final maturation trigger that prompts the body's own LH surge while lowering ovarian hyperstimulation risk.
- GnRH antagonistAlso: Cetrorelix, GanirelixIVF term
A daily injectable medicine added mid-stimulation once lead follicles reach threshold size to prevent a premature LH surge and early ovulation before planned egg retrieval.
H
- HysterosalpingogramAlso: HSGIVF term
An outpatient fluoroscopic X-ray test using contrast dye to evaluate the contour of the uterine cavity and check whether the fallopian tubes are open.
I
- ICSIAlso: Intracytoplasmic sperm injectionIVF term
A lab method where a single sperm is injected into an egg. Whether it is used is a clinical decision.
- Inner cell massAlso: ICMIVF term
The cluster of cells inside a blastocyst that develops into the fetus, graded alongside the trophectoderm and cavity expansion before transfer or freezing.
- Intended parentsIVF term
The people who will be the parents of a child born through treatment, including when a donor or gestational carrier is involved.
- Interactive sandboxOvaFlow term
The clickable /demo simulation with fictional data and no EMR connection.
- IUIAlso: Intrauterine inseminationIVF term
A fertility procedure that places washed, concentrated motile sperm directly into the uterus through a thin catheter around the time of ovulation.
- IVFAlso: In vitro fertilizationIVF term
Fertility treatment in which eggs are collected, fertilized in a lab, and an embryo is later placed in the uterus.
L
- LHAlso: Luteinizing hormoneIVF term
The hormone whose mid-cycle surge prompts final egg maturation and ovulation. Blood LH levels are tracked during stimulation and during natural-cycle frozen embryo transfer monitoring.
- Lot recallIVF term
A manufacturer notice that a batch of lab supplies, such as culture media, may be affected and needs to be traced.
- Luteal supportIVF term
Hormone support, usually progesterone, given around transfer and into early pregnancy as prescribed. It often starts before the transfer.
M
- Metaphase II oocyteAlso: MII, Mature eggIVF term
An egg that has extruded its first polar body and reached nuclear maturity, making it ready for fertilization by ICSI or conventional insemination.
- Modeled workflow exampleOvaFlow term
How nAbleIVF, eIVF and Artisan appear on this site: reconstructions of how OvaFlow is designed to work beside each EMR, not a live connection or endorsement.
- MonitoringIVF term
Ultrasounds and blood tests during stimulation that guide the clinician's decisions on doses and timing.
- MorulaAlso: Day 4 embryoIVF term
A Day 4 embryo stage in which dividing cells compact tightly together just before a fluid cavity forms to create a blastocyst.
- Mosaic embryoIVF term
An embryo whose biopsy sample shows a mix of chromosomally normal (euploid) and abnormal (aneuploid) cells, discussed with a clinician or genetic counselor before transfer decisions.
- My workOvaFlow term
A role-scoped queue sorted into Needs action, Waiting and Completed.
N
- Natural or modified-natural FETIVF term
A frozen embryo transfer timed around the patient's own ovulation (spontaneous or hCG-triggered), preserving the corpus luteum during early pregnancy.
O
- OB graduationIVF term
Moving care from the fertility clinic to an obstetric team. It counts only once the receiving team accepts.
- Observation interruptedOvaFlow term
OvaFlow lost sight of the EMR screen. It shows the last verified time and doesn't assume anything changed.
- OHSSAlso: Ovarian hyperstimulation syndromeIVF term
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: an over-response to stimulation medicines that can cause swelling, bloating or pain in the days after the trigger and retrieval, and sometimes later. Symptom questions always go to the clinic, and emergencies to 911.
- OocyteAlso: Egg cellIVF term
The clinical term for an egg cell aspirated from an ovarian follicle during transvaginal ultrasound-guided egg retrieval.
- Ovarian follicleAlso: FollicleIVF term
A fluid-filled sac inside the ovary that surrounds and nourishes a single microscopic egg. Monitoring ultrasounds measure follicle diameters in millimeters rather than seeing eggs directly.
- Ovarian stimulationAlso: StimIVF term
Daily injections that help several follicles (fluid-filled sacs that may each contain an egg) grow at the same time. Not every follicle yields an egg.
P
- Patient-reported useOvaFlow term
The patient's own account of when they took a medication, kept with the reported and received times.
- PGTAlso: Preimplantation genetic testingIVF term
Genetic testing of a few cells from an embryo before transfer.
- PGT-AAlso: Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidyIVF term
Genetic testing of a trophectoderm biopsy that counts whole-chromosome and segmental copy numbers to identify euploid, aneuploid or mosaic embryos.
- PGT-MIVF term
Genetic testing for a specific inherited condition. It often needs family samples and lab preparation before the cycle starts.
- PGT-SRAlso: Preimplantation genetic testing for structural rearrangementsIVF term
Preimplantation genetic testing designed for intended parents who carry a balanced chromosomal translocation, inversion or deletion.
- Pilot, later phasesOvaFlow term
How the site labels timing. “In the first pilot” is daily-care coordination in the first clinic pilot; “Planned after the pilot” is the treatment and patient expansion; “Later phase” is broader lab and long-term continuity.
- Pregnancy lossIVF term
The end of a pregnancy before birth. Care afterward is clinician-led, and routine reminders should stop.
- Pregnancy of unknown locationAlso: PULIVF term
A positive pregnancy test when an ultrasound has not yet shown where the pregnancy is.
- ProgesteroneAlso: P4IVF term
The hormone that prepares the uterine lining (endometrium) to accept an embryo and supports early pregnancy, given by intramuscular injection, vaginal insert or oral tablet.
- Programmed FETAlso: Hormone-replacement FET, HRT FETIVF term
A frozen embryo transfer protocol in which scheduled estradiol and progesterone prepare the uterine lining while natural ovulation is suppressed.
- Prototype walkthroughOvaFlow term
A recording of an interactive design prototype with fictional data. It is not running software.
- Publication outcome unknownOvaFlow term
A send may or may not have happened. The task stays open and the EMR is checked before anything is repeated.
R
- ReadbackOvaFlow term
Checking the record in the clinic's own EMR to confirm what actually happened.
- Readiness gateOvaFlow term
Clinical and financial readiness shown side by side before a cycle starts, without either one standing in for the other.
- Reason for careIVF term
Why someone is seeking treatment, for example infertility, a genetic condition, donor or reciprocal treatment, or preserving fertility. It shapes which steps come next.
- Reciprocal IVFIVF term
A path where one person provides the eggs and the other carries the pregnancy.
- REIAlso: Reproductive endocrinologistIVF term
A physician who specializes in fertility treatment. In OvaFlow's stories, REI physicians review evidence, decide and sign.
- Review in the EMROvaFlow term
The step where an authorized person continues in the clinic's own EMR or portal. Until then, nothing is published.
S
- Saline infusion sonohysterogramAlso: SIS, SHGIVF term
A specialized ultrasound using sterile saline to outline the inside of the uterine cavity and check for polyps, fibroids or scar tissue before embryo transfer.
- Save checkOvaFlow term
Confirming that text placed in the EMR was actually saved, rather than assuming it.
- Semen analysisIVF term
A standardized andrology lab evaluation measuring ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, motility and morphology during fertility workup and retrieval-day preparation.
- Signed sourceOvaFlow term
The clinician-signed document an instruction comes from. Every prepared instruction points back to it.
- Sperm sourceIVF term
Where the sperm for treatment will come from, such as a fresh or frozen sample, a surgical collection or a donor. It needs to be confirmed before stimulation starts.
- Stale-revision blockOvaFlow term
A safeguard that prevents a patient or nurse from confirming an earlier medication time or dose after a newer clinician-signed amendment has replaced it.
- Superseded instructionOvaFlow term
An older version replaced by a newer signed one. It stays in history but can't be sent again.
T
- Tested in your clinic firstOvaFlow term
Testing each operation in a specific clinic's EMR, permissions and devices before it is enabled there.
- Time-boxed escalation ladderOvaFlow term
A countdown rule that promotes an unacknowledged time-critical instruction from portal notification to coordinator callback queue and on-call clinician review before the clinical window closes.
- Treatment pauseIVF term
A break in treatment that the patient chooses. Reminders stop, and returning happens on the patient's timing.
- Trigger shotAlso: TriggerIVF term
A timed injection that finishes egg maturation, so the retrieval about 36 hours later lines up.
- TrophectodermIVF term
The outer layer of cells of a blastocyst that later forms the placenta and membranes; embryo biopsy samples a few trophectoderm cells while leaving the inner cell mass untouched.
- Two pronuclei zygoteAlso: 2PN, Fertilization checkIVF term
The fertilized egg stage observed sixteen to eighteen hours after insemination or ICSI, showing two distinct pronuclei—one from the egg and one from the sperm—confirming normal fertilization.
V
- Visit captureOvaFlow term
Opt-in recording of a visit or call, after consent, that produces a draft for a clinician to review.
- VitrificationAlso: Flash-freezingIVF term
Ultra-rapid cooling with cryoprotectants that solidifies eggs or embryos into a glass-like state without ice crystal formation for storage in liquid nitrogen.
W
- WarmingAlso: ThawIVF term
Bringing vitrified (flash-frozen) embryos or eggs out of storage so they can be used. Which ones are warmed is a specific, authorized decision.
- WitnessingIVF term
A lab check, often by two people or a dedicated system, that confirms the right sample goes with the right patient. It stays in the lab's own witnessing process; OvaFlow does not perform or replace it.
- WorkupIVF term
The tests and assessments done before treatment begins. When two people are involved, each has their own.
- Wrong-chart stopOvaFlow term
If the open chart isn't the patient the work belongs to, placement stops and the draft is kept.
Learn
See the words at work.
Watch these terms in context in the prototype walkthroughs, with fictional patients and staff.