Infertility means or is defined as the inability to conceive even After at least one year of unprotected intercourse. Because most people can conceive within this time frame, doctors advise that couples who are unable to do so be evaluated for fertility issues. Infertility in men as well as in women is common problem now a days.
Hormone abnormalities, disease, reproductive anatomy injuries and obstruction, and sexual dysfunction can all influence sperm and hinder pregnancy in males, either temporarily or permanently. The longer some disorders go untreated, the more difficult they become to treat.
Sperm development
(spermatogenesis) occurs in the testes’ ducts (seminiferous tubules). Spermatozoa (mature sperm cells) contain one-half of a man’s genetic information and are produced via cell division. Each spermatogenesis cycle has six phases and lasts around 16 days.
To create one mature sperm, it takes about five cycles, or two months. Each sperm’s tail (flagellum) is powered by energy-generating organelles (mitochondria) so that it may swim to the female egg once inside the vagina. The endocrine (hormonal) system, which includes the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, is ultimately in charge of sperm formation.
Because sperm formation takes more than two months, illness existing during the first cycle can impact mature sperm, regardless of a man’s current health.
Prevalence and Incidence of Infertility
Male infertility affects over 40% of the 2.6 million infertile married couples in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. One-half of these men are unable to father children due to irreversible infertility, while a small percentage of these cases are caused by a treatable medical problem.
Causes and Risk Factors Infertility
Impaired sperm production, sperm delivery, and testosterone insufficiency are the main reasons of male infertility (hypogonadism).
Infertility can be caused by a congenital (existing at birth) or acquired (late) disorder (acquired). Infertility can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Chemotherapy
- Failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum (cryptorchidism) or the absence of one or both testicles are examples of defects or obstructions in the reproductive system (anorchism)
- Illness (e.g., cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, sexually transmitted diseases [STDs])
- Hormone imbalance (testosterone deficiency; caused by a disorder in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis)
- Infection is a type of infection (e.g., prostatitis, epididymitis, orchitis; can cause irreversible infertility if they occur before puberty)
- Injuries (e.g., testicular trauma)
- High blood pressure (hypertension) and digestive illness medications
Hemochromatosis, for example, is a metabolic condition (affects how the body uses and stores iron) - Ailment that affects the entire body (high fever, infection, kidney disease)
- Testicular carcinoma is a malignancy of the testicles.
- Varicocele
Retrograde ejaculation
occurs when the muscles or nerves in the bladder neck are impaired, preventing the bladder neck from closing during ejaculation, enabling semen to flow backward into the bladder, resulting in infertility. It can be caused by bladder surgery, a congenital abnormality in the urethra or bladder, or a nervous system disorder. This disorder is characterized by diminished or “dry” ejaculation and murky urine after ejaculation.
Testicular trauma, which can occur as a result of an injury, surgery, or infection, can cause an immunological reaction in the testes, which can harm sperm. Antibodies can make it difficult for sperm cells to swim through cervical mucus or access a female egg, while their effects aren’t fully understood.
