Newly aspirated egg surrounded by cumulus cells

The polar body is visible in this mature egg that is being prepared for ICSI

Motile sperm are selected for injection

The motile sperm is immobilized using the injection pipet

The immobilized sperm is picked up tail-first into the injection pipet

The egg is aligned using the holding pipet so that the polar body is visible at the top or bottom

The sperm is brought to the tip of the injection pipet and the pipet is pushed into the egg

Both the zona and the egg plasma membrane are pierced and the sperm is pushed into the cytoplasm of the egg

The injection pipet is withdrawn from the egg as the sperm is deposited in the egg cytoplasm