METHODS TO EVALUATE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF THE HUMAN MALE

The proportion of men suffering from subfertility has increased and sp erm quality of the general population has decreased rather dramaticall y during the last decades. Conventional methods to measure sperm conce ntration, motility, and morphology give a rough estimate of the fertil izing capacity of semen. Objective assessment of motility characterist ics and morphometric image analysis may give more precise information, but technology still needs to be refined. Some aspects of the functio nal capacity of spermatozoa may be impaired before measurable changes occur in their number or morphology. A battery of tests is described t o evaluate sperm migration and capacitation, acrosome reaction and acr osin activity, zona adhesion and binding, sperm oolemma fusion, sperm head decondensation, and chromatin make-up. Also methods are described to localize the possible site of impairment of the genital tract. Imp lementation of these methods may enhance our capability to detect mino r effects of environmental hazards on male reproductive health.