The male must produce sufficient sperm of good quality and ejaculate them into the female’s vagina. Your partner may have a normal semen volume and still be sub fertile. Viable sperm must be produced in his testicles, they must be transported through the vas deferens, past the prostate gland, through the urethra and ejaculated out the penis. Once deposited in the vagina, they must swim through the cervical mucus, past the cervix, and into the uterus. One sperm must attach to, and penetrate, an egg and be capable of fertilization. Alterations to any of these characteristics can lead to male infertility.

The semen analysis examines many factors according to the Kruger Strict Criteria or the World Health Organization Criteria. In general, the semen analysis includes:

• Volume of sperm in the ejaculate- the normal value is more than 20 million sperm/milliliter.
• Motility (ability to swim)-More than 50% should be actively motile (moving)
• More than 14% normal forms- the heads and tails are properly shaped.
• Less than 5 white blood cells per high power microscope field. More could indicate infection or antibodies.
• Other characteristics, such as viscosity, are also evaluated.

The time required for sperm cells to develop to maturity is three months. A semen analysis done today reflects the conditions affecting sperm development three months ago. For example, the scrotum performs the vital function of controlling the temperature of the testicles. If the temperature of the testicles needs to be lowered the scrotum expands moving them further away from the body. The reverse happens when the temperature of the testicles needs to be increased. ( Read about male infertility.)

The male may have a normal semen volume and still be sub fertile. Viable sperm must be produced in his testicles, they must be transported through the vas deferens, past the prostate gland, through the urethra and ejaculated out the penis. Once deposited in the vagina, they must swim through the cervical mucus, past the cervix, and into the uterus. One sperm must attach to, and penetrate, an egg and be capable of fertilization.

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