stimulation and assisted conception techniques J.A.Stewart1,3, P.J.Hamilton2 and A.P.Murdoch1 1Centre for Reproductive Medicine and 2Department of

3To whom correspondence should be addressed Thromboembolic disease, as a complication of ovarian stimulation and assisted conception techniques, is generally considered to be a rare complication of ovarian hyperstimu-lation syndrome and, by implication, lower limb in origin. Sporadic cases of unusually sited thromboses, both venous and arterial, have been reported. This paper aims to draw attention to the relatively large number of such thromboses reported in the world literature compared with those cited in previous commentaries, and to emphasize how little is known about their pathogenesis. It is believed that this is an issue which requires to be addressed in order to understand the background pathology to such incidents and if possible to identify women at greatest risk from such potentially debilitating or fatal complications, such that appropriate prophylactic measures can be taken. Key words: assisted reproduction/human/ovarian hyperstimula-tion syndrome/ovulation induction/thrombosi