Background Although semen analysis is routinely used to evaluate the male partner in infertile couples, sperm measurements that discriminate between fertile and infertile men are not well defined. Methods We evaluated two semen specimens from each of the male partners in 765 infertile couples and 696 fertile couples at nine sites. The female partners in the infertile couples had normal results on fertility evaluation. The sperm concentration and motility were determined at the sites; semen smears were stained at the sites and shipped to a central laboratory for an assessment of morphologic features of sperm with the use of strict criteria. We used classification-and-regression-tree analysis to estimate threshold values for subfertility and fertility with respect to the sperm concentration, motility, and morphology. We also used an analysis of receiver-operating-characteristic curves to assess the relative value of these sperm measurements in discriminating between fertile and infertile men. Results The su...

Sperm Morphology, Motility, and Concentration in Fertile and Infertile Men

Relation between semen quality and fertility: a population-based study of 430 first-pregnancy planners

Linda M. Neal

Papers

The clinical value of conventional semen analysis

Chorionic gonadotropin concentration in early human pregnancy: comparison of specific and nonspecific assays.