In vivo dynamic 3D imaging of the mouse oviduct to assess the transport of preimplantation embryos toward pregnancy

Connecting the ovary and uterus, the oviduct (fallopian tube) is an essential organ for natural pregnancy. One major function of the oviduct is to transport preimplantation embryo to the uterus for implantation. This is a precisely timed process critical for successful pregnancy; however, little is known about how the oviduct drives and regulates the embryo dynamics to achieve the transport, leading to the unknown etiology of many oviduct-related reproductive disorders, such as tubal ectopic pregnancy. Here, we present in vivo 3D dynamic imaging and quantitative assessment of this transport process inside the mouse oviduct with optical coherence tomography.