The temporal relationship between the luteinizing hormone surge and human oocyte maturation.

The temporal relationship of oocyte maturation to endogenous luteinizing hormone (LH) in vivo throughout the preovulatory period has not been previously reported. In order to study in vivo oocyte maturation follicular aspiration was carried out from 4 to 38 hours after the onset of the LH surge. Oocytes were obtained in 72% of cases. If oocytes were harvested more than 18 hours after the onset of the LH surge, resumption of meiosis had occurred. Twenty-eight to thirty-eight hours after the onset of the LH surge preovulatory oocytes in metaphase II were obtained. A corpus luteum was found 38 hours after the onset of the LH surge.