12/7/2015

SemenAnalysis:Purpose,Procedure&Results

SemenAnalysis
WrittenbyShannonJohnson
MedicallyReviewedbyTheHealthlineMedicalReviewTeamonSeptember30,2015

WhatIsSemenAnalysis?
Semenanalysis,alsoknownasaspermcounttest,analyzesthehealthandviabilityofamanssperm.Semenis
thefluidcontainingsperm(plusothersugarandproteinsubstances)thatsreleasedduringmaleejaculation.A
semenanalysismeasuresthreemajorfactorsofspermhealth:
thenumberofsperm
theshapeofthesperm
themovementofthesperm,alsoknownasspermmotility
Doctorswilloftenconducttwoorthreeseparatespermanalysestogetagoodideaofspermshealth.Accordingto
theAmericanAssociationforClinicalChemistry(AACC),thetestsshouldbeconductedatleastsevendaysapart
andoverthecourseoftwotothreemonths.Spermcountscanvaryonadailybasis.Takinganaverageofthe
spermsamplescangivethemostconclusiveresult.

WhyUndergoSemenAnalysis?
Asemenanalysisisoftenrecommendedwhencouplesarehavingproblemsgettingpregnant.Thetestwillhelpa
doctordetermineifamanisinfertile.Theanalysiswillalsohelpdetermineiflowspermcountorspermdysfunction
isthereasonbehindinfertility.
Menwhohavehadavasectomyundergosemenanalysistomakesurenospermareintheirsemen.In
avasectomy,thetubesthatsendspermfromthetesticlestothepenisarecutandsealedasapermanentformof
birthcontrol.Afteravasectomy,doctorsoftenrecommendthatmentakeaspermanalysisonceamonthforthree
monthstoensurethatspermisnolongerpresentintheirsemen.

HowtoPrepareforSemenAnalysis
Yourdoctorwillletyouknowwhatyoushoulddoinpreparationforthesemenanalysis.Itsveryimportanttofollow
theseinstructionsforaccurateresults.
Togetthebestsample:
avoidejaculationfor24to72hoursbeforethetest
avoidalcohol,caffeine,anddrugssuchascocaineandmarijuanatwotofivedaysbeforethetest
stoptakinganyherbalmedications,suchasSt.Johnswortandechinacea,asinstructedbyyourhealthcare
provider
avoidanyhormonemedicationsasinstructedbyyourhealthcareprovider
Discussanymedicationsyouretakingwithyourdoctor.

HowIsSemenAnalysisConducted?
Youllneedtoprovideyourdoctorwithasemensampleforasemenanalysis.Therearefourmainwaystocollecta
semensample:
masturbation
sexwithacondom
sexwithwithdrawalbeforeejaculation
ejaculationstimulatedbyelectricity
Masturbationisconsideredthepreferredwaytogetacleansample.

GettingaGoodSample
Twomainfactorsarecrucialtohavingagoodtestingsample.First,thesemenmustbekeptatbodytemperature.If
itgetstoowarmortoocold,theresultswillbeinaccurate.Second,thesemenmustbedeliveredtothetesting
facilitywithin30to60minutesofleavingthebody.

TestInterference
Somefactorscannegativelyaffectthetest,including:
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SemenAnalysis:Purpose,Procedure&Results

semencomingintocontactwithspermicide
takingthetestwhenyoureillorstressed
inexpertlabtechnician
contaminationofthesample
Therearenoknownrisksassociatedwithaspermanalysis.
Ifsemenanalysisresultsarentwithinnormallimitsandhandlingofthespecimenisntafactor,yourdoctormayalso
consideryouretakingthefollowingsubstances,whichcanaffectyourspermcount:
alcohol
caffeine
herbs,suchasSt.Johnswort
prescriptiondruguseofmedicinesknowntoreducespermcount,suchascimetidine
recreationaldruguse
tobacco

WhatAreNormalResults?
Whenadoctorreviewsspermanalysistestresults,therearemanyfactorstoconsider.Ananalysisaftervasectomy
looksforthepresenceofsperm,buttheanalysistolookforfertilityissuesismuchmoreindepth.Yourdoctorwill
takeeachofthefollowingresultsintoaccount:

SpermShape
Anormalresultforspermshapeisthatmorethan50percentofspermarenormallyshaped.Ifamanhasgreater
than50percentofspermthatareabnormallyshaped,thisreduceshisfertility.Alaboratorymayidentify
abnormalitiesinthespermshead,midsection,ortail.Itsalsopossiblethespermcouldbeimmatureandtherefore
notabletoeffectivelyfertilizeanegg.

Movement
Foranormalresult,morethan50percentofspermmustmovenormallyanhourafterejaculation.Sperm
movement,ormotility,isimportanttofertilitybecausespermmusttraveltofertilizeanegg.Anautomatedsystem
analyzesthespermformovementandratesthemonascaleof0to4.Ascoreof0meansthespermarenot
moving,andascoreof3or4representsgoodmovement.

pH
ApHlevelshouldbebetween7.2and7.8toachieveanormalresult.ApHlevelhigherthan8.0couldindicatethe
donorhasaninfection.Aresultlessthan7.0couldindicatethespecimeniscontaminatedorthatthemans
ejaculatoryductsareblocked.

Volume
Thevolumeofspermforanormalresultshouldbegreaterthan2millimeters.Alowspermvolumecouldindicatea
lowamountofspermtofertilizeanegg.Anexcessfluidvolumecouldalsomeantheamountofspermpresentis
diluted.

Liquefaction
Itshouldtake15to30minutesbeforesemenliquefies.Whilesemenisinitiallythick,itsabilitytoliquefy,orturntoa
wateryconsistency,helpsspermtomove.Ifsemendoesnotliquefyin15to30minutes,fertilitycouldbeaffected.

SpermCount
Thespermcountinanormalsemenanalysisshouldbebetween20milliontoover200million.Thisresultisalso
knownasspermdensity.Ifthisnumberislow,conceivingcanbemoredifficult.

Appearance
Theappearanceshouldbewhitishtograyandopalescent.Sementhathasaredbrowntintcouldindicatethe
presenceofbloodwhileayellowtintcouldindicatejaundiceorbeamedicationsideeffect.

WhatDoAbnormalResultsMean?
Abnormalspermwillhavetroublereachingandpenetratingeggs,makingconceptiondifficult.Abnormalresults
couldindicatethefollowing:
infertility
infection
hormonalimbalance
disease,suchasdiabetes
genedefects
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exposuretoradiation
Ifyourresultscomebackatabnormallevels,yourdoctorwillprobablysuggestthatyoutakeadditionaltests.These
testsinclude:
genetictests
hormonetesting
urinalysisafterejaculation
takingatissuesamplefromyourtesticles
antispermimmunecellstesting

OutlookAfteraSemenAnalysis
Asemenanalysisthatsthemostconclusiverequirescarefulcollectionandanalysisofmultiplespecimens.Thetest
canprovideavarietyofinformationthatcouldhelpdeterminefactorsthataffectyourfertility.Ifyourtestresultsare
abnormal,yourdoctormayrecommendthatyouseeafertilityspecialist.
References:
MayoClinicStaff.(2015,July15).Lowspermcount.Retrievedfromhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low
spermcount/DS01049/DSECTION=testsanddiagnosis
MayoClinicStaff.(2013,February9).Vasectomy.Retrievedfrom
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vasectomy/MY00483
Semenanalysis:Spermwashandpreparation.(n.d.).Retrievedfrom
http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/Portals/4/Documents/ClinicalImmunology/Semen_Analysis.pdf
WHOlaboratorymanualfortheexaminationandprocessingofhumansemen.(2010).Retrievedfrom
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241547789_eng.pdf

Copyright20052018HealthlineNetworks,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Healthlineisforinformationalpurposesandshouldnotbeconsideredmedical
advice,diagnosisortreatmentrecommendations.

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