Seminal Fluid Analysis

Seminal fluid consists of spermatozoa suspended in ______.

plasma

Spermia refers to semen ______.

volume (ex. aspermia, oligospermia, etc.)

Zoospermia refers to ______.

spermatozoa

What are some purposes of seminal fluid analysis?

- Infertility evaluation

- Vasectomy evaluation

- Forensic studies

The seminal vesicles product secretions which help ______ sperm on their journey.

nourish/protect

The prostate gland secretes a thin, milky, alkaline fluid that enhances sperm ______.

motility

The bulbourethral glands (Cowper's glands) add an additional ______ secretion to the semen that helps the sperm ______ longer within the acidic female tract.

alkaline, live

GnRH is released from the hypothalamus and stimulates the release of ______ and ______.

FSH, LH

FSH stimulates Sertoli cells to produce a binding protein that initiates ______.

spermatogenesis

LH stimulates Leydig cells to produce ______.

testosterone

Testosterone functions

- Facilitates formation of secondary spermatocytes

- Promotes spermatozoa motility

- Promotes fertilizing capacity of sperm in epididymis

- Controls volume and content of prostatic and seminal vesicle fluids

Spermatids develop into ______ by various morphological changes.

spermatozoa

Spermatozoa are released into the ______.

seminiferous tubules

In the epididymis, full spermatozoa ______ and ______ ability is carried out.

maturation, fertilization

______ is developed in the epididymis.

motility

Sperm storage occurs in the cauda of the ______ and in the ______.

epididymis, vas deferens

Ejaculation sequence

1. Bulbourethral grand releases fluid

2. Epididymal spermatozoa, ampulla fluid and prostate gland fluid released

3. Seminal vesicle fluid released

The seminal vesicle fluid is high in ______.

fructose

Seminal vesicle fluid is important for ______ of ejaculate.

coagulation

Prostatic fluid is milky and slightly ______.

acidic (6.5)

Prostatic fluid is high in ______, important in liquefaction.

proteolytic enzymes

Prostatic enzymes normally cause liquefaction within ______ minutes after ejaculation.

15-30

Spermatozoa become actively motile after release from the ______.

gel matrix

The enzyme ______ is essential for sperm penetration through the zona pellucida.

acrosin

The acrosome reaction is the fusion of the anterior sperm head plasma membrane with the outer acrosomal membrane and injection of ______ into the oocyte.

DNA

Each oocyte remains fertile ______ hours after ovulation.

12-24

Seminal fluid must be kept close to ______C after collection.

body temp (20-37C)

Seminal fluid must be analyzed within ______ from collection, preferably as soon as liquefaction is complete.

1 hour

What are the different fractions of seminal fluid?

1: Sperm-rich prostatic fluids

Later: Seminal vesicular fluid

Prior to collection, the patient must have ______ days of sexual abstinence.

2-4

Ideally, 2-3 specimens collected between ______ and ______ apart are analyzed.

7 days, 3 weeks

______ abnormal seminal fluid specimens is significant.

2

Normal seminal fluid color

Gray/white opalescent

Clear seminal fluid indicates ______ or ______.

azoospermia, oligospermia

Turbid

Yellow

Pink/bright red

Brown

Green seminal fluid causes

Turbid: WBCs

Yellow: Urine contamination

Pink/bright red: Fresh blood

Brown: Old blood, infection

Green: Infection

Normal seminal fluid volume

2-5mL

Causes of hypospermia

- Retrograde ejaculation

- Duct obstruction due to malignancy

- Congenital

- Infertility

Causes of hyperspermia

- Prostatic problems, secondary to prostatitis

- Long period of abstinence

Greater than ______ for liquefaction to occur is abnormal.

60 minutes

Viscosity under ______ thread is normal.

2cm

Normal pH of seminal fluid

7.2-8.0

A low pH can be due to increased amounts of ______ in the seminal fluid specimen.

prostatic fluid

Normal sperm count

>15-20 million/mL

(>39 million per total ejaculate)

What are some methods of sperm quantitation?

- Neubauer hemacytometer

- Makler counting chamber

- Micro-Cell

Cell Vu

Only ______ sperm are counted.

mature

Normal motility

>40% total motility (PR+NP) with >32% having progressive motility (PR)

Normal morphology

>4% with normal morphology

Amorphous head

"squished"

Coiled tail

Cytoplasmic droplet

Macrocytic head

Microcytic head

Pin head

Tapered sperm

Double head

Paired sperm

Tailed are twisted together

Double tail sperm

To assess sperm viability/vitality, ______ stain is used.

Eosin-Nigrosin

With Eosin-Nigrosin staining, alive cells will be ______ and dead cells will be ______.

unstained, stained (pink/red)

Normal viability/vitality

>58% alive within 3 hours at room temperature

Greater than ______ WBCs per ejaculate indicates inflammation.

1 million

Immature germ cells

Anti-sperm antibodies can be detected via ...

- Flow cytometry

- Indirect fluorescent test

- Patient's sperm is the antigen

Agglutination can be tested via the ______.

Kibrick Test

Sperm penetration assay is performed via the ______.

Hamster Zona free oocyte test

Abnormal penetration rate

10% or less

Causes of male infertility

- Varicocele

- Retrograde ejaculation

- Chemotherapy

- Cryptorchidism

- Prostatitis

- Ductal obstruction

- Endocrine abnormality

- Increased viscosity

A vasectomy is the removal of part of the ______ to prevent sperm from entering the ejaculate.

vas deferens

Vasectomy effectiveness measurement.

16 weeks post, 18 weeks post and 1 year post

Prior to testing vasectomy effectiveness, men should abstain for ______ days.

2-7

Semen can be detected using a ______.

UV light

The presence of ______ and ______ prove that a substance is semen.

prostatic acid phosphatase, PSA