Final answer:
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is the ART procedure that places sperm into a woman's reproductive tract for fertilization of an oocyte.
Step-by-step explanation:
The procedure that places sperm into a woman's reproductive tract to fertilize an oocyte is called Intrauterine insemination (IUI). IUI is a type of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and is less invasive than others such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). The main goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes and subsequently increase the chance of fertilization. IUI involves a laboratory procedure to separate fast-moving sperm from more sluggish or non-moving sperm. The fast-moving sperm are then placed into the woman's uterus around the time of ovulation when the egg is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube.
In contrast, IVF involves combining eggs and sperm outside the body in a laboratory. After IVF, embryos are placed in the uterus. Other procedures like gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) involve transferring gametes or zygotes into the fallopian tubes, respectively, but do not strictly place sperm into the reproductive tract for fertilization like IUI does.