gical approaches are not necessary to perform ET in Although considered moderately invasive, this procedure

Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canadamost species of veterinary interest but rather the trans-cervical route is used. The ovine cervix, however, is a narrow and rigid structure with a complex, tortuous ar-rangement that precludes easy transcervical passage and intrauterine deposition of harvested embryos in recipient causes undue stress to animals, is time consuming, costly, labor intensive, and requires specialized equip-ment and qualified personnel. The repeated use of this technique is also a concern for animal welfare. As a re-sult, the use of laparoscopic ET is not widespread in the sheep industry and is limited to small flocks of usually rare, expensive, heritage breeds. The cost to benefit ratio * Correspondence: pmbart@uoguelph.caease with which these procedures can be executed. Sur-inability to easily traverse the uterine cervix. The cervix of the non-pregnant ewe is a narrow and rigid structure, with 5–7 spiral folds and crypts that block its lumen. The first two folds closest to the vagina appear to be the greatest obstacle for the instrument insertion into the sheep cervix. Therefore, the dilation of the distal part of th