Problems Involved in the Diagnosis and Management of Male Infertility

Abstract

IN RECENT years, it has become apparent that male sterility is much more common than was once supposed. Up to a few years ago, the wife shouldered the blame for the childless marriage. However, we now know that the causes for such a condition are about evenly distributed between the wife and the husband. The problem involved in attempting to discover the cause of a barren marriage may be exceedingly difficult. The problem is complex because of the multiplicity of factors that may be present in the male and female and the difficulty of evaluating just where the responsibility for the sterile marriage may lie. In the study of a sterile couple, it is not only necessary to demonstrate the sterility itself, but also to arrive at an estimate of the relative fertility of each partner and raise the existing fertility, if possible, to a level at which conception may occur.