Sonographic evaluation of human male infertility

The male partner is responsible for 50% of infertility in couples. Assessme nt of male infertility should include clinical examination, laboratory test s (semen analysis, dosage of gonadal and gonadotropic hormones) and sonogra phic examination of the urogenital tract. Male infertility is related to di verse abnormalities including testis lesions (infertility of secretory type ) and obstructive disorders of the genital tract (infertility of excretory type). Sonographic examination with abdominal, scrotal and transrectal prob es has become the major imaging modality to evaluate male infertility and e specially to analyze infertility of excretory type related to inflammatory lesions, congenital agenesis of vas deferens and congenital cyst of the dis tal genital tract. The main purpose of this paper is to illustrate with son ography the normal anatomy of the male genital tract and to detail sonograp hic features of current pathologies responsible for human male infertility.