Supravital staining of human spermatozoa

Abstract

The technique of Dougherty et al. was compared with that of Eliasson and Treichl. The latter technique involves only eosin (0.5% in phosphate buffer) and has been used for more than 8 yr by this author. The 5% eosin solution sometimes revealed 20% more stained cells than were noted with the 0.5% and 1% eosin solutions. The mean percentage of stained spermatozoa was significantly higher with the 5% eosin solution than with the 0.5% and 1% solutions. Between the latter two solutions there was no significant difference. The results indicate that more accurate results will be obtained if the eosin concentration is reduced to 1%. With this modification the technique of Dougherty et al. can be recommended as a useful method in the analysis of human semen.