The invention of artificial fertilization in the eighteenth and nineteenth century

History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Barbara Orland

Abstract

Artificial insemination and other fertilization techniques are today considered central to the history of reproductive medicine. The medical treatment of infertile couples, however, constitutes just a small part of the whole story of artificial fertilization. Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799) in particular, said to have been the inventor of artificial insemination, did not develop this method for medical purposes. He belonged to a generation of naturalists to whom artificial insemination was part of a heterogeneous series of investigations that were undertaken to explore the natural history of animal generation. Questions concerning conception, the role of the gametes, the definition of species, the production of hybrids or livestock breeding were all included in these investigations. Thus, no one strain of thought, nor single set of ideas or interests, entirely shaped the development of artificial fertilization.

References

Sep 25, 1999·The Journal of Experimental Zoology·E Capanna
Apr 1, 1973·Journal of the History of Biology·C Castellani
Dec 4, 2003·Animal Reproduction Science·Keith J Betteridge
Jun 5, 2007·Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences·Christina Benninghaus
Jun 5, 2007·Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences·Sarah Wilmot
May 29, 2010·Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte·Florence Vienne
Nov 17, 2012·Journal de gynécologie, obstétrique et biologie de la reproduction·H Fernandez, M Dreyfus
May 28, 2015·History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences·Florence Vienne

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Citations

Mar 31, 2021·History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences·Susanne Lettow

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