Major difficulties exist in the accurate and meaningful diagnosis of male reproductive dysfunction, and our understanding of the epidemiology and etiology of male infertility has proven quite complex.
The numerous spermatozoa produced in mammals and other species provides some degree of protection against adverse environmental conditions represented by physical and chemical factors that can reduce reproductive function and increase gonadal damage even resulting in testicular cancer or congenital malformations. The wide fluctuations of sperm production in men, both geographical and temporal, may reflect disparate environmental exposures, occurring on differing genetic backgrounds, in varying psychosocial conditions, and leading to the diversified observed outcomes. Sperm analysis is still the cornerstone in diagnosis of male factor infertility, indeed, individually compromised semen paramaters while adequately address therapeutic practices is progressively flanked by additional tests. Administration of drugs, IUI, correction of varicocele, and, to a certain extent, IVF although they may not be capable of restoring fertility itself often result in childbearing.
Written by:
Palermo GD, Kocent J, Monahan D, Neri QV, Rosenwaks Z. Are you the author?
The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1305 York Avenue, Suite 720, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
Reference: Methods Mol Biol. 2014;1154:385-405.
doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0659-8_18
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24782020
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