Semen analysis

Abstract

A careful and objective evaluation of the semen provides important clinical information on the normality of spermatogenesis, the patency of the male reproductive tract, and the functional competence of the sperm cells. Altough there have been substantial clinical interest and research in sperm function tests, such as the sperm penetration assay using zona-free hamster oocytes, in the majority of cases the contribution of the male to a couple's infertility can be adequately assessed from analysis of the semen. This capability is not new, but until recently semen evaluation was a clinical art practiced well by only a few experts. The development of objective, quantitative methodologies for semen evaluation has brought these diagnostic capabilities to every clinical laboratory. The challenges we now face involve not only the design of methods to measure semen parameters, but also the more important identification and validation of those measures of semen quality with greatest clinical significance.