Testis & epididymis
Development
Infertility
Author: Turki Al-Hussain, M.D.
Topic Completed: 1 August 2012
Minor changes: 8 September 2020
Copyright: 2002-2021, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Infertility [title] Testis and epididymis
Cite this page: Al-Hussain T. Infertility. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/testisinfertility.html. Accessed January 17th, 2021.
Definition / general
- Causes: pretesticular, testicular, posttesticular
- Pretesticular: extragonadal endocrine disorders (hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal); includes elevated prolactin levels (Arch Pathol Lab Med 1984;108:35)
- Testicular: little treatment currently available
- Posttesticular: duct obstruction (congenital, inflammatory, postsurgical); surgical treatment often successful since spermatogenesis is normal
- Note: impaired sperm motility due to epididymal or immunologic factors is considered posttesticular
- Evaluation: history and physical examination, semen analysis, WBC count in semen, detection of antisperm antibodies, sperm function tests (cervical mucus interaction, ova penetration, hemizonal assay)
- Testicular biopsy is helpful for azoospermia without endocrine abnormalities
- RNA binding motif: nuclear immunostain identifies spermatogenesis in biopsies that appear to be Sertoli cell only (Hum Pathol 2001;32:36)
Additional references
