The male factor in sterility

Using Farris' technique of examining semen specimens for determining the potential degree of the male's fertility, 200 semen analyses were done on 178 husbands in 178 unselected infertile couples. It was found that 123, or 69 per cent, of these men had an absolute motility of 80,000,000 or more sperm and therefore were potentially fertile; while 55, or 31 per cent, were potentially subfertile. It was found that 10, or 5.6 per cent, of these males were azoospermatic. In Table II are listed the median values for male standards of fertility based on 20 cases of pregnancy. This series is much too small to draw any conclusions, but the findings are similar to those of Farris. The author considers the absolute motility count the most important factor in classifying a man's fertility. However, this fertility is affected by other criteria, which must be taken into account. The author highly recommends Farris' technique of semen analysis as an accurate and relatively easy method for determining the potential degree of the male's fertility in studying the infertile couple.