Causes and treatment of male infertility

The widespread belief that the woman is to blame for the absence of a child in the family is erroneous. According to statistics, female infertility accounts for only 40% of cases, while male infertility is observed in 45% of cases when spouses have no children. In other cases, the cause of infertility is the incompatibility of both spouses or other rare forms of infertility.

In order to understand the causes of male infertility, you need to know the structure of the male organs responsible for the reproductive function.

Everyone knows that the cell responsible for conception in the male body is the sperm. What it is? This is a cell that carries all the genetic information that a man’s body can pass on to his offspring. This cell consists of a head, neck and tail.

It is in the head that the genetic information is located. In the neck of the sperm, the energy necessary to move to the egg is produced. The tail is directly used for locomotion.

The convoluted tubules of the testicles, covered with spermatogenic epithelium, produce sperm. The length of these tubules is 500 meters. To fully mature, the sperm passes along the entire length of the tubules and gradually passes into the epididymis, where it fully matures and becomes suitable for meeting the egg. Through the vas deferens, the cell enters the seminal vesicles through the inguinal canal and the abdominal cavity. This is where a secret containing nutrients is produced.

The sperm that enter the vesicles are collected and mixed with this secretion. Moving further, the cells end up in the prostate gland, where they also mix with its secretion. All this resulting alkaline mixture is called sperm. Once in the urethra during ejaculation, semen is ready to ejaculate.

Based on the structural features of male organs, two forms of male infertility have been identified:

This form implies the presence of abnormalities in the development of the sperm at the stage of passage of the testicular tubules. This can be due to a number of reasons.

The main and most common cause is varicocele. In this disease, the veins of the testicles dilate, as a result of which blood circulation is disturbed, the temperature rises and the quality and quantity of sperm produced decreases.

Other diseases of the ovaries, such as dropsy or inguinal hernia, can also cause infertility.

When diagnosing the causes of infertility, it is necessary to pay attention to the diseases suffered by the man. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, typhus, and other infectious diseases that have been transferred can adversely affect reproductive function.

Injury, constant squeezing of the testicles, wearing tight underwear can cause a secretory form of infertility.

With this form of infertility, the function of permeability through the vas deferens is impaired. After suffering inflammation of the epididymis (epididymitis), infertility often appears in men. The reason is that after the inflammation is removed, the ducts remain clogged, which makes it impossible for the sperm to move.

Injury or damage to the vas deferens can also lead to the appearance of an obstructive form of infertility.

Congenital defects of the reproductive organs are common.

When making a diagnosis, in addition to visual examination and questioning of the patient, a spermogram analysis is a mandatory procedure.

The main indicators of spermogram are semen volume, sperm count in 1 ml of ejaculant, etc.

The normal volume of ejaculant is 3-5 ml. If the sperm count is less than 2 ml, conception is almost impossible.

The required sperm count varies widely, but should not be less than 20 ml per 1 ml of semen. The frequency of intercourse also affects sperm count. The maximum number of sperm cells produced can be achieved only with abstinence for more than 2 days.