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Semen analysis

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Related to Semen analysis: semen morphology

A semen analysis (plural: semen analysis), also called "seminogram" evaluates certain characteristics of a sperm of a man and the semen contained therein. It has been done to evaluate male fertility, whether it is pregnancy or to verify the success of vasectomy. Depending on the method of measurement, only a few characteristics can be evaluated (such as in a home kit) or many characteristics can be evaluated (usually by a diagnostic laboratory). Collection techniques and accurate measurement methods can affect the results.

Reasons for testing


The most common reasons for laboratory analysis in humans are as part of the infertility study of a few and after a vasectomy to check that the procedure was successful. It is also often used for testing human donors for semen donation, and for animal sensing is often used in farm culture and farm animals.

Occasionally, a man will perform semen analysis as part of the routine pre-pregnancy test. At laboratory level, this is rare because most healthcare providers will not test the sperm and sperm unless specifically asked whether there is a strong suspicion of pathology in one of these areas during medical history or during physical examination Have been discovered. Such testing is very expensive and time-consuming, and in the US it is unlikely that they will be covered by insurance. In other countries, such as Germany, testing is covered by all insurance.

Relationship to fertility


The characteristics measured by semen analysis are just some of the factors in sperm quality. One source says that 30% of men with normal semen analysis actually have an abnormal nerve function. [2] Conversely, men with poor semen analysis can go to parental children.  NICE guidelines define heavy male factor infertility as if 2 or more sperm analyses have 1 or more variables below 5th percentile and the risk of pregnancy prevents vaginal circulation within 2 years, comparable to humans With mild endometriosis. ]

Collection methods


Various methods used for sperm collection include masturbation, coitus interruptus, condom collection, epididymal extraction, etc.

Parameters


Examples of parameters measured in a semen analysis are sperm count, motility, morphology, volume, fructose level and pH.

Sperm count



The estimated pregnancy rate varies from the amount of semen used in an artificial insemination cycle. Values are for intrauterine insemination, with sperm number in total sperm count, which may be about twice the total motile sperm.

Sperm count, or sperm concentration to prevent confusion with total sperm count, measure the sperm concentration in a man's ejaculate, distinguished from total sperm count, which sperm count is multiplied by volume.According to the WHO, more than 15 million sperm per millilitre is considered normal in 2010.  Older definitions are 20 million.  A lower sperm is considered oligozoospermia. A vasectomy is considered successful if the sample is azoospermia (zero sperm of any kind found). Some define success as when rare/incidental non-motile sperm is observed (less than 100,000 per millilitre). Other attorneys who obtain a second semen analysis to verify the counts are not increased (as can be done with re-channeling) and others may perform a repeat vectomy for this situation.

Home chips are emerging that can give an accurate estimate of sperm count after three samples on different days. Such a chip can measure the concentration of semen in a semen sample against a control fluid filled with polystyrene beads. 

Motility


The World Health Organization has a value of 50% and this must be measured within 60 minutes of the collection. The WHO also has a vitality parameter, with a lower reference limit of 60% live spermatozoa.  A man can have a total number of semen, far above the limit of 20 million sperm cells per milliliter, but still, has poor quality because few of them are mobile. However, if the sperm count is very high, low motility (e.g., less than 60%) can not be considered as the fraction may still be over 8 million per milliliter. On the other hand, a man can have a sperm that has much less than 20 million sperm cells per milliliter and still has good mobility if more than 60% of the observed sperm cells show a good forward movement.

A more specified measure is the degree of motility, where the sperm mobility is divided into four different classes:

Grade a: Progressive motility sperm. These are the strongest and swim quickly in a straight line. Sometimes also referred to as motility IV.
Rank b: (nonlinear motility): They also move forward, but tend to travel in a curved or curved motion. Sometimes also referred to as motility III.
Grade c: These have a non-progressive motility because they do not move forward, despite the fact that they move their tail. Sometimes also referred to as motility II.
Grade d: These are immortal and do not move at all. Sometimes also referred to as motility I.

Morphology


As far as sperm morphology is concerned, the WHO criteria as described in 2010 indicate that a sample is normal (samples of men whose partners have pregnancy in the last 12 months) as 4% (or 5th centiel) or more of the observed sperm normally Morphology

Morphology is a predictor of successful fertilization of oocytes during in vitro fertilization.

Up to 10% of all spermatozoa have perceptible defects and are perceived as such in terms of fertilizing an oocyte.

Also, sperm cells with tailpoints swelling patterns generally have a lower frequency of aneuploidy.
A mobile sperm organometric morphology research (MSOME) is a particular morphological study in which an inverted light microscope equipped with high power optics and enhanced by digital imaging is used to achieve magnification above x6000, which is much greater than the magnification usually used by embryologists Used in spermatozoa selection for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (x200 to x400). [13] A possible finding on MSOME is the presence of semen vacuoles, which are associated with the immature of sperm chromatin, especially in large vacuoles.
Volume

WebMD recommends that sperm volumes between 1.0 ml and 6.5 ml are normal; WHO considers 1.5 ml as the lower reference limit.  The low volume may indicate partial or complete blockage of the seminal vesicles or the man without nerve fibers.  In clinical practice, a volume of less than 2 ml in the vicinity of infertility and absence of sperm should give an evaluation for obstructive azoospermia. A caveat for this is sure it has been at least 48 hours since the last ejaculation until the time of collecting samples.
Color

Semen usually has a witty grey colour. It tends to get a yellowish tint as a man. Sperm color is also influenced by the food we eat: foods that are high in sulphur, such as garlic, can lead to a man who produces yellow sperm. [15] Presence of blood in sperm (hematospermia) leads to brown or red-colored ejaculation. Hematospermia is a rare condition.

Semen that has a deep yellow color or green appearance may be the result of medication. According to WebMD, brown semen is mainly due to infection and inflammation of the prostate gland, urethra, epididymis and seminal vesicles. Other causes of unusual semen colour include sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia, genital surgery and damage to the male genitals.
Fructose level

As regards the level of fructose in the sperm, WebMD normally appears to be at least 3 mg/ml. [3] Who specifies a normal level of 13 μmol per sample. The absence of fructose can indicate a problem with the seminal vesicles. 


PH


WebMD launches a normal pH range of 7.1-8.0; [3] WHO criteria normally indicate 7.2-7.8. [2] Acute ejaculation (lower pH) may indicate that one or both of the seminal vesicles are blocked. A basic ejaculate (higher pH) can indicate an infection. [2] A pH outside the normal range is harmful to sperm. [3]
liquefy

Liquidation is the process when the gel formed by proteins from the seminal vesicles is degraded and the semen becomes liquid. It usually takes less than 20 minutes for the sample to change a thick gel in a liquid. In the NICE guidelines, a flow rate is considered within the normal range within 60 minutes. [16]
MOTH

MOT is a measure of how many million sperm cells per ml are very mobile [17], which is about a degree a (> 25 microns per 5 sec at room temperature) and the degree b (> 25 microns per 25 sec at room temperature). Thus, it is a combination of sperm and motility.

With a straw [18] or vial volume of 0.5 milliliters, the general directive is that in a total of 20 million motile spermatozoa in total intracervical insemination (ICI), straws or vials are recommended. This is equivalent to 8 straws or vials 0.5 ml with MOT5, or 2 straws or vials of MOT20. For intrauterine insemination (IUI) 1-2 MOT5 straws or vials are considered sufficient. [19] WHO terms are therefore recommended to use approximately 20 million a + b of sperm in ICI and 2 million a + b in IUI.
Total motile spermatozoa

Total motile spermatozoa (TMS) [20] or total motile sperm (TMSC) [21] is a combination of sperm count, motility and volume, measuring how many million sperm cells in a whole ejaculate are motile.

Use of approximately 20 million sperms of cylinder c or d in ICI and 5 million in IUI may be an approximate recommendation.

Others


The NICE guidelines also include testing vitality, with the normal range defined as more than 75% sperm cells alive.

The sample can also be tested on white blood cells. A high level of white blood cells in sperm is called leukospermia and may indicate an infection.  Cutoffs can vary, but a secretion is more than 1 million white blood cells per millilitre of sperm.
Deviations

Aspermia: absence of semen
Azoospermia: absence of semen
Hypospermia: low sperm volume
Hyperspermia: high sperm volume
Oligozoospermia: Very low sperm count
Asthenozoospermia: poor sperm motility
Teratozoospermia: sperm carry more morphological defects than normal
Necrozoospermia: all sperm in the ejaculate are dead
Leucospermia: a high level of white blood cells in sperm

Factors that influence results


Apart from the semen quality itself, there are several methodological factors that can influence the results, which may cause inter-method variation.

In comparison with samples obtained from masturbation, semen samples from collective contraceptives have higher total sperm, sperm motility and percentage of sperm with normal morphology. For this reason, they are deemed to provide more accurate results when used for semen analysis.

If the results of the first sample of a man are subfertile, they must be verified with at least two analyses. Each analysis must be allowed at least 2 to 4 weeks.  Results for a single man may have a large amount of natural variation over time, meaning that a single sample can not be representative of the average sperm of a man.  In addition, sperm physiologist Joanna Ellington believes that the stress of producing an ejaculate sample for research, often in an unknown environment and without lubrication (most lubricants are a bit harmful to sperm), explain why the first Monsters of men often show poor results, but later monsters show normal results.

A man may rather try his sample at home than in the clinic. The sperm collection site does not affect the results of a semen analysis.


Measuring methods


Volume can be determined by measuring the weight of the sample container, with the mass of the empty container being known. Sperm and morphology can be calculated by microscopy. Sperm count can also be estimated by kits that measure the amount of semen-associated protein, and are suitable for home use.

Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA) is a catch-all sentence for automatic or semi-automatic semen analysis techniques. Most systems are based on image analysis, but there are alternative methods like tracking the cell movement on a digitising tablet. [27] [28] Computer-assisted techniques are commonly used for evaluation of sperm concentration and mobility characteristics, such as velocity and linear velocity. Nowadays, CASA systems, based on image analysis and using new techniques, have almost perfect results and complete analysis in seconds. With some techniques, sperm concentration and motility measurements are at least as reliable as current manual methods.
Raman spectroscopy has made progress in its ability to carry out the characterization, identification and localisation of sperm nuclear DNA damage.

The Trak Male Fertility System is able to measure sperms using a portable centrifuge. A small sample of sperm is placed in a disposable pattern and the cartridge is attached to the Trak motor. The engine turns the cartridge, and the semen separates into its parts. The isolated sperm cells fill a visible room, such as mercury in a thermometer, and mark on the pattern an optimal, moderate or low sperm. [31] These series are based on various studies, and the World Health Organization (WHO). [34] The device also connects with a smartphone app to count sperm over time.