A graph embedded in the 3-sphere
is called irreducible if it is
non-splittable and for any 2-sphere embedded in the 3-sphere that intersects
the graph at one point
the graph is contained in one of the 3-balls bounded by the 2-sphere.
We show that irreducibility is
preserved under certain deformations of embedded graphs. We show that
certain embedded graphs
are irreducible.