Open AccessNormal reference ranges for semen quality and their relations to fecundity
Author(s) -
Niels E. Skakkebæk
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
asian journal of andrology/asian journal of andrology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1745-7262
pISSN - 1008-682X
DOI - 10.1038/aja.2008.43
Subject(s) - fecundity , semen , sperm , semen quality , andrology , cutoff , biology , semen analysis , gynecology , fertility , infertility , medicine , population , pregnancy , environmental health , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics
Several recent studies have shown that the fecundity of a man decreases progressively with sperm concentrations below 40 million spermatozoa per mL. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the new World Health Organization guidelines for semen analysis recommend lowering the lower cutoff value for normal sperm concentration from 20 to 15 million spermatozoa per mL. As a result large groups of subfertile men across the world may not receive appropriate andrological help in the future.