Male infertility is the condition in which a man's sperm count not is normal.
In developed countries, one in three couples, aged after 30 years, has an infertility problem, with the male factor participating in approximately 40%.
The spermogram is the test that analyzes the quality of the sperm. A sperm chart that has a sperm volume above 2ml, sperm count >15 million per ml, total sperm count above 40 million, motility >32% and normal sperm morphology >4% is considered normal.
When no spermatozoa are found in the spermogram, then the term is used azoospermia. The causes of azoospermia are distinguished in occlusives and in non occlusives.
In obstructive azoospermia, the spermatozoa are normally produced in the testicles, but they do not exit the urethra either due to some obstruction of the path they travel through, or due to a genetic abnormality, in which the spermatic duct is not present.
In non-obstructive azoospermia no sperm are produced, which may be due to various chromosomal abnormalities and syndromes or to acquired conditions such as trauma, testicular torsion, neoplasms, pharmaceuticals, external radiation, toxic substances.
A detailed history, clinical examination, laboratory and imaging tests usually reveal the nature and cause of sperm quality disturbances. Sometimes, however, the test does not reveal a specific aggravating factor, a fact called "idiopathic male infertility".
The treatment options offered nowadays to the infertile man are many and on multiple levels, which makes the will of a couple to have their own child goal realistic and achievable.
