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The goal of this Views and Reviews is to let colleagues and leaders well versed in the African American experience in reproductive medicine address the problems of racism affecting our trainees and patients and, more significantly, propose solutions. The areas in reproductive medicine that will be explored from the African American perspective include the pipeline of providers, health disparities, and access to infertility treatment., (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Demand for fertility preservation in women for oncologic, nononcologic, and personal reasons has increased dramatically. Meeting that demand is a major challenge, and we are rising to the challenge. Mature oocyte cryopreservation after ovarian stimulation and ovarian tissue cryopreservation are both methods endorsed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (formerly The American Fertility Society), and numerous papers confirmed their efficacy. In girls and women with leukemia or cancers who are at a high risk of ovarian metastasis and who may not be eligible for ovarian tissue transplantation, restoration of fertility can only be achieved by in vitro methods. Male fertility preservation has also become a pressing issue and is extensively reviewed in the present journal issue., (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Despite years of recognition that many physicians are woefully unprepared to face challenges regarding the business of medicine, marginal progress has been made. In this piece, we aim to provide the contemporary reproductive medicine physician with an understanding of billing, coding, and, most importantly, cost containment for a typical fertility practice. It is critical for modern practices to not forego hard-earned revenue to insurance companies or not be aware of critical rules and regulations. While running a successful fertility practice requires good medical care, a profitable practice is necessary for overall long-term success. This article provides a brief history of medical insurance and billing, explains the process of updating billing codes, and reviews the revenue cycle, cost containment, and contract negotiations with insurance companies., (Copyright © 2020 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This commentary assesses Let There Be Life: An Intimate Portrait of Robert Edwards and His IVF Revolution by Roger Gosden (Jamestowne Bookworks, Williamsburg, VA, 2019, xxix + 359 pp., £15.99 / $19.99), an authorized biography of the IVF pioneer who founded this journal. It reflects on the challenges of placing Edwards in the history of studying reproduction, especially the rise of interest in infertility. It analyses Gosden's narrative choices and practices of reconstruction, in particular of experiences of seeing human eggs, embryos and fetuses. And it suggests that further research should explore the full spectrum of communication around Edwards with a view to illuminating the roles of scientists in transforming reproduction and to feeding back into a richer view of his life., (Copyright © 2020 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The field of reproductive medicine is rapidly evolving, and important advances have the potential to profoundly impact the way we care for our patients. Emerging developments, including the application of big data analytics and informatics, the notion of reciprocal diagnosis, insights into applied genetics, and stem cell biological and transplantation experimental advances all have the potential to markedly change our therapeutic approach to patients. This month's "Views and Reviews" collection provides an informative glimpse at these emerging technologies, which promise to substantially impact our field and the way we provide care for our patients., (Copyright © 2020 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In recent decades we have witnessed unprecedented progress in the field of the developmental biology of mammals. Building on 20 th century discoveries, we have managed to increase our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing early mammalian embryogenesis and link them to other biological questions, such as stem cells, regeneration, cancer, or tissue and organ formation. Consequently, it has also led to a creation of a completely new branch of reproductive medicine, i.e. assisted reproductive technology (ART). In this Special Issue of The International Journal of Developmental Biology (Int. J. Dev. Biol.) we wished to review state-of-the-art research regarding early mammalian development, from fertilization up to the implantation stage, and discuss its potential meaning for practical applications, including ART. As an introduction to the issue we present a compilation of short essays written by the most renowned scientists in the field, working both in basic and clinical research. The essays are dedicated to the greatest breakthroughs and challenges of 21 st century developmental biology and reproductive medicine.

In this 40th anniversary year of the first IVF live birth, it is pertinent to look at all those teams endeavouring to generate live births from this unique technology and who succeeded within 4 years of the first. There were 9 teams who achieved this and a further 3 who were successful soon after, by the end of 1982. This historical review is compiled by 2 authors who were actively engaged in the field of IVF at the time of the first birth and who have remained active in Reproductive Medicine throughout their professional lives. They bring intimate and relevant knowledge of those pioneer researchers from the early years who can be classified as the "Founding Pioneers" of IVF., (Copyright © 2018 Society for Biology of Reproduction & the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The modern successes of reproductive medicine are based on the achievements in the fields of artificial fertilization and cryobiology over the last 50years. Cryopreservation of oocytes makes it possible to preserve their reproductive potential after surgical interventions, treatment of cancer, for delayed pregnancy and to use cells for donation. Cryopreservation of embryos allows not only to reduce the multiple pregnancies rate and to increase the cumulative pregnancy rate as a result of embryo transfer in the following favorable cycles of the patient, but is also a necessary procedure in case of genetic diagnosis or in the case of contraindications for embryo transfer in the stimulated cycle due to possible complications. However, the viability of cryopreserved oocytes and embryos depends on the degree of their cryo damage during the process of freeze-warming. In this regard, it is very important to develop such freezing protocols that minimize the damages caused by the intra- and extracellular ice crystal formation, toxic effect of high concentrations of cryoprotectants and osmotic stresses. The effectiveness of cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is assessed on the basis of morphological, functional and genetic changes in the cells after warming. Special attention should be paid to the ethical issues of assisted reproductive technology, including cryobiotech technologies, which in many countries remain open and in need of settlement., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This monograph, written by the pioneers of IVF and reproductive medicine, celebrates the history, achievements, and medical advancements made over the last 40 years in this rapidly growing field., (Copyright © 2018 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The mediocre outcome of microsurgery results in patients with extensive tubal disease was the original driving force behind the search for new methods to assist these infertile patients. Many unsuccessful attempts were carried out before the birth of the first in vitro fertilization baby in Europe 40 years ago. Many pioneers worked tirelessly to develop the tools, procedures, and research necessary. Thanks to the efforts of many, the field of reproductive medicine has grown, advanced, and progressed in ways that seemed nearly impossible just a few decades ago., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The first steps toward an academic sexual medicine were made half a century ago in the Federal Republic of Germany. After the so-called sexual revolution, the first approaches to an academicization of the field of sexual science were located in Hamburg and Frankfurt, where independent institutes and chairs were set up. Through empirical studies, the ignorance of physicians and medical students in sexuality-related topics could be demonstrated and subsequently addressed. In the early 1970s a journal named Sexualmedizin was founded, the first education courses for physicians in sexual medicine were held and in Frankfurt the first "special" university outpatient clinic in the country was opened with a department for sexual science. During the following decades, several textbooks were published and the professional training of physicians was expanded. As a university specialty, however, sexual medicine is still one of the most threatened medical subjects, being represented in only a few German faculties.Prof. Dr. Volkmar Sigusch, a pioneer of modern sexual research, looks back on events and personal experiences and gives an overview of the actors and sexual-scientific publications of the time.

Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

History of marital infertility is as long as history of human :ivilization. Becoming aware about the importance of procreation, as well as the problems with which people may confront, has been the subject of interest since the moment of the first human community creation. Historically, each stage of social development, hence the development of science, has carried within itself certain findings more or less acceptable from today's point of view. The development of human awareness and acquisition of findings based on empirical evidence have contributed to understanding and solution of the problem which was considered to be a result of force majeure until that moment and therefore could not be influenced. This paper deals with the previously mentioned issues through the review of historical development of assisted reproductive technology and its importance. The authors' intention was to present the developmental road of assisted reproductive technology through history succinctly with a special emphasis on the moments which have been of the crucial importance and which have marked certain stages of its development.

In 2007, I was asked by the University of Calgary to participate in a symposium called 'Pushing the Boundaries--Advances that Will Change the World in 20 Years'. My topic was oncofertility, a word I had just coined to describe the intersection of two disciplines--oncology and fertility--and I was thrilled to share my passion for this new field and help young women with cancer protect their future reproductive health. Fertility preservation in the cancer setting lacked a concerted effort to bridge the disciplines in an organized manner. In early 2015, I was delighted to deliver a presentation for the Society for Reproduction and Fertility titled 'Sex in Three Cities', where I gave an update on the oncofertility movement, a remarkable cross-disciplinary, global collaboration created to address the fertility preservation needs of young cancer patients. During my tour of the UK, I was impressed by the interest among the society and its members to engage colleagues outside the discipline as well as the public in a dialogue about cutting-edge reproductive science. In this invited review, I will describe the work of the Oncofertility Consortium to provide fertility preservation options in the cancer setting and accelerate the acceptance of this critical topic on a global scale. I hope that one day this word and field it created will change the world for women who had been left out of the equation for far too long., (© 2015 Society for Reproduction and Fertility.)

This is a brief personal assessment of the origins and development of the field of reproductive immunology from the 19th century to the present day, with special reference to the founding of the Journal of Reproductive Immunology in 1979., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Oswald Schwarz, a urologist from Vienna, was a scholar of Anton Ritter von Frisch and Hans Rubritius. As a physician during World War I, he was confronted with numerous bullet wounds to the spinal cord. In 1919, he completed his professorial thesis"Bladder dysfunction as a result of bullet wounds to the spinal cord". Oswald Schwarz was known as a committed surgeon. As an urologist he also treated patients with sexual dysfunction. Besides his practical and scientific urology-related work, he was also interested in psychology and philosophy. He held lectures on both subjects earning himself the nickname, the Urosoph. In the 1920s, Oswald Schwarz belonged to the inner circle of Alfred Adler, the founder of Individual Psychology, and was editor of the first psychosomatic textbook published in German, "Psychological origin and psychotherapy of physical symptoms" (1925). In addition, Schwarz wrote numerous articles and several books on sexual medicine. He also made many valuable contributions to the development of medical anthropology. Altogether, his work includes over 130 publications. Faced with the rise of fascism and National Socialism in Europe, Oswald Schwarz, who was of Jewish origin, emigrated to England in 1934. There he died in 1949. Unfortunately his scientific work has largely been forgotten. The aim of the following article is to remind us of his important contributions to the field.