Brown-colored semen in men with spinal cord injury

The interesting condition of brown-colored semen has often been observed du ring assisted ejaculation of men with spinal cord injury (SCI). This condit ion has not been reported in the literature, and its cause is unknown. To i nvestigate this condition, the present study examined the incidence and qua lity of brown semen and its relationship to level of SCI, time since SCI, n umber of successive ejaculations, ejaculation frequency, and ejaculation me thod in a total of 664 semen specimens from 162 SCI men. in addition, a mic roscopic evaluation was performed on brown semen specimens from SCI men, no t-brown specimens from SCI men, and normally colored specimens from normal men. The results showed that 27% of SCI subjects had brown semen on at leas t one ejaculation. There was no difference between men producing and men no t producing brown semen in age, level of injury, or years postinjury. The d uration of anejaculation, number of successive ejaculations, and frequency of ejaculation were not associated with occurrence of brown semen. Sperm co ncentration and sperm motility were not significantly different in brown an d not-brown specimens. Specimens from subjects who produced brown semen had similar pH but lower Volume than specimens from subjects who did not produ ce brown semen. Brown semen had a thin consistency more often than not-brow n semen. Brown specimens contained intact red blood cells (RBCs) and/or hem e pigment more often than not-brown specimens; however, one half and one th ird of the specimens, respectively, contained neither RBCs nor heme pigment . The cause of brown semen is unknown but may relate to seminal-vesicle dys function.