{"title":"Semen rheology and its relation to male infertility.","authors":"Giovanna Tomaiuolo, Fiammetta Fellico, Valentina Preziosi, Stefano Guido","doi":"10.1098/rsfs.2022.0048","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Infertility affects 15% of couples of reproductive age worldwide. In spite of many advances in understanding and treating male infertility, there is still a number of issues that need further investigation and translation to the clinic. Here, we review the current knowledge and practice concerning semen rheology and its relation with pathological states affecting male infertility. Although it is well recognized that altered rheological properties of semen can impair normal sperm movement in the female reproductive tract, routine semen analysis is mostly focused on number, motility and morphology of spermatozoa, and includes only an approximate, operator-dependent measure of semen viscosity. The latter is based on the possible formation of a liquid thread from a pipette where a semen sample has been aspirated, a method that is sensitive not only to viscosity but also to elongational properties and surface tension of semen. The formation of a liquid thread is usually associated with a gel-like consistency of the sample and changes in spermatozoa motility in such a complex medium are still to be fully elucidated. The aim of this review is to point out that a more quantitative and reliable characterization of semen rheology is in order to improve the current methods of semen analysis and to develop additional tools for the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.</p>","PeriodicalId":13795,"journal":{"name":"Interface Focus","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9560795/pdf/rsfs.2022.0048.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Interface Focus","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2022.0048","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/12/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Infertility affects 15% of couples of reproductive age worldwide. In spite of many advances in understanding and treating male infertility, there is still a number of issues that need further investigation and translation to the clinic. Here, we review the current knowledge and practice concerning semen rheology and its relation with pathological states affecting male infertility. Although it is well recognized that altered rheological properties of semen can impair normal sperm movement in the female reproductive tract, routine semen analysis is mostly focused on number, motility and morphology of spermatozoa, and includes only an approximate, operator-dependent measure of semen viscosity. The latter is based on the possible formation of a liquid thread from a pipette where a semen sample has been aspirated, a method that is sensitive not only to viscosity but also to elongational properties and surface tension of semen. The formation of a liquid thread is usually associated with a gel-like consistency of the sample and changes in spermatozoa motility in such a complex medium are still to be fully elucidated. The aim of this review is to point out that a more quantitative and reliable characterization of semen rheology is in order to improve the current methods of semen analysis and to develop additional tools for the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.
期刊介绍:
Each Interface Focus themed issue is devoted to a particular subject at the interface of the physical and life sciences. Formed of high-quality articles, they aim to facilitate cross-disciplinary research across this traditional divide by acting as a forum accessible to all. Topics may be newly emerging areas of research or dynamic aspects of more established fields. Organisers of each Interface Focus are strongly encouraged to contextualise the journal within their chosen subject.