The ability to diagnose and identify various congenital anomalies and genetic disorders prenatally has improved exponentially with the advanced resolution of ultrasonography and diagnostic techniques such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). These approaches are primarily limited to the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, however. As a result, the first-trimester embryo and fetus have received only limited diagnostic and therapeutic attention. CVS can be performed as early as 6 weeks' gestation, but nongenetic structural anomalies are beyond its diagnostic capabilities. Lastly, none of these techniques (e.g., ultrasound, amniocentesis, and CVS) can be used for treatment of the embryo. Therefore, much interest has been stimulated by the introduction of embryoscopy, which uses high-resolution fiberoptic equipment for direct visualization of the embryo or fetus, the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of which is just beginning to unfold. Direct visualization of the embryo offers both the opportunity for improved diagnostic techniques and the potential for direct targeted embryonic or fetal therapy (Table 1).