Andrology Services
Please note that all andrology testing requires a physician’s referral.
Please note that all andrology testing requires a physician’s referral.
Semen analysis is a critical component of infertility testing and provides essential information about the clinical status of the individual. Semen analysis may also be ordered for patients after vasectomy to determine the success of the procedure. Numerous parameters of the semen are evaluated including volume, viscosity, non-liquefaction, sperm cell density, motility, forward progression, activity, round cell density, and agglutination. Fructose presence may be determined as part of a semen analysis if certain initial parameters are met or if ordered by the physician.
The following instructions are important for obtaining the most accurate semen analysis:
Retrograde Semen Analysis: During a retrograde ejaculation, semen is ejaculated into the urinary bladder rather than through the remaining reproductive tract and out through the penis. The sperm cells can be retrieved from the urine using various methodologies and used for reproductive procedures including sperm cryopreservation. A retrograde semen analysis includes evaluation of both the ejaculate that may be collected and the voided urine sample using the same parameters as in a semen analysis.
Living sperm cells without motility are distinguished from dead sperm cells during a viability analysis. A staining technique is used based on the principle that a dead cell with a deteriorated membrane will allow the stain to enter while an intact (viable) membrane will not. Normally, a semen sample should have greater than 50% viable sperm cells. A valuable tool when assessing specimens with low percent forward progression, Pittsburgh Cryobank automatically performs a viability analysis on semen samples having less than 10% forward progression. A sperm viability analysis may also be ordered by a physician as a separate andrology test.
A morphology analysis is a microscopic examination and evaluation of the shape of each individual sperm cell. Criteria have been established for assessing normal and abnormal head, neck & midpiece, and tail sections of sperm cells. These criteria have been associated with fertilization rates in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) procedures. Therefore, assessing sperm morphology may be helpful in a physician’s determination of which ART method should be utilized to yield the most successful results.
Additional andrology testing is available but is most often ordered as specialty testing by a physician attempting to diagnose otherwise unexplained infertility.
Testicular Biopsy or MESA (Microsurgical Epidydimal Sperm Aspiration): tissue (testicular biopsy) or fluid (MESA) samples are collected by a urologist or infertility specialist to obtain sperm from the patients in which other options for obtaining sperm have not been productive. Tissue samples are dissected and minced, releasing any sperm present from testicular tubules. Fluid is surgically retrieved from the vas deferens or epididymis and typically yields motile sperm. The recovered sperm can be cryopreserved for future procedures or used immediately.
Sperm Wash: freshly ejaculated semen or previously unwashed cryopreserved specimens are washed prior to use for any ART procedure, including IUI. The wash concentrates and separates the usable motile sperm cells from non-motile sperm, debris and surrounding seminal fluid.