Male Infertility - SPERM FUNCTION TESTS

SPERM FUNCTION TESTS

1. Post coital test:

At least 4.000.000 normal motile sperm /ml should be detected in pre-ovulatory cervical mucus 4-12 hours after intercourse.

2. Mucous penetration test:

Tests the ability of sperm to penetrate a drop of cervical mucous placed beside it on a slide or in a capillary tube.

3. Antisperm antibody tests.

4. Sperm motility:

60% progressive motility. F.P. grade 3-4.

Speed: 25 um/sec (on computerized analysis).

Lateral head displacement: 4.5-10 um/sec.

5. Viability:

- Vital stains: eosin & trypan blue stains only dead sperm with damaged plasma membrane.

- Fluorescent DNA stains nuclei of damaged cells

- Hypo-osmotic swelling test: Living sperm absorb water and swell in a hypo-osmotic medium.

6. Transport:

Identifying sperm reaching the peritoneal cavity in fimbrial rinsing during laparoscopic examination of the female partners

7. Acrosome reaction:

In acrosome reacted sperm, the acrosomal membranes can be identified through the binding of monoclonal antibodies, lectins, or chlortetracycline.

Viability testing should be added to insure that these are acrosome reacted sperm & not dead sperm.

8. Sperm penetration assay (SPA):

Testing the ability of sperm to penetrate zona free hampster eggs (Zona pellucida
confers species specificity).

9. Zona binding assayor Hemizona assay (HZA):

Human eggs not utilized during IVF and stored in concentrated salt solution may be used to test the ability of sperm to bind to and penetrate the human zona pellucida.

10. Electron microscopy to detect tail, midpiece, acrosome & head defects.

11. Sperm metabolism:

ATP/ADP ratio in semen is suggested as an indicator of good sperm function; while increased free oxygen radical by spermatozoa correlates with poor motility.

جميع حقوق الطبع والنشر محفوظة للدكتور حسين غانم لعام 1999

discussion group for Patients

Page written & discussion moderated by:

Dr. Hussein Ghanem

Professor of Andrology, Cairo University
Formerly: Fellow in Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery,
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
Formerly: Fellow in Male Sexual Function, Reproduction, and Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Telephone: +(202) 761 3334

E-mail: ghanem@family-clinics.com

Address: 139 (A) Al-Tahrir Street, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt