Abstract Today, about 10–15 percent of couples at reproductive age worldwide are infertile and they are unable to conceive naturally without medical assistance. Infertility can be caused by male-only factors,…
Abstract The acrosome reaction (AR) is an essential process of spermatozoa for fertilization and is characterized by the exocytosis of the acrosomal content and the release of hybrid membrane vesicles…
Abstract Mitochondria are crucial organelles of eukaryotic aerobic cells (somatic and germ cells) because they produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and are modulators of ion homeostasis, generators of free radicals and…
Abstract Assessment of sperm vitality is an important component of semen analysis. It helps to distinguish spermatozoa that are alive and immotile from those that are dead. Sperm vitality can…
Abstract The hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test, introduced in 1987 to assess the functional integrity of the human sperm membrane, appears to have withstood the test of time. Many articles have…
Abstract The evaluation of sperm morphology as a standard procedure to be included in routine semen analysis is under persistent pressure due to several factors relating inter alia to the…
Abstract The definition of infertility is often described as the inability of a couple to conceive after one year of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse. Male factor infertility is present in…
Abstract Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) is an automated and objective method to evaluate several sperm parameters, either in conjunction with or instead of routine manual semen analysis. CASA systems have…
Abstract The investigation of the male fertility potential starts with the analysis of seminal fluid. The seminal fluid or ejaculate is composed of a heterogeneous water-based solution (seminal plasma) deriving…
Abstract The aim of this chapter is not to provide all practical details necessary for proper semen examination. There already exist other sources for that type of information [1, 2]….
