Patient's question:
Hello! I am 30 years old, and I have been married to my wife for five years without having any children. I suspect it is my problem because every time we have sexual intercourse, the amount of sperm I release is very little, and the color is also abnormal. Sometimes there is only semen without sperm. What could be the reason for this?Doctor's answer:
Hello! Oligospermia is one of the manifestations of abnormal semen! Below is a simple introduction to abnormal semen and sperm disorders, hoping it helps you!1. Oligospermia: Oligospermia refers to a condition where the sperm count in semen is lower than that of a normal, healthy, and fertile male. Clinically, it is often accompanied by low sperm motility, poor forward movement ability, and a high rate of abnormal sperm morphology. In such cases, it is referred to as oligoasthenozoospermia. Oligospermia is a relatively common cause of male infertility.
2. Azoospermia: Azoospermia is defined as the absence of sperm in the semen after centrifugation and microscopic examination. Azoospermia can be divided into two major categories:
- The first category is testicular germ cell dysfunction, where sperm cannot be produced.
- The second category is obstructive azoospermia, where the testicular sperm production function is normal, but the sperm cannot be expelled from the body due to blocked ducts.
3. Asthenozoospermia: Asthenozoospermia refers to a condition where the percentage of sperm with forward motility (grades a and b) is less than 50%, or the percentage of grade a motile sperm is less than 25%. Asthenozoospermia is also known as low sperm motility.
4. Hematospermia: Hematospermia is the presence of blood in the semen. It is usually pink, red, brownish-red, or streaked with blood. Depending on the nature of the lesion and the amount of blood, it can manifest as gross hematospermia (visible blood clots), microscopic hematospermia, or mixed forms.
5. Seminal Non-Liquefaction: Seminal non-liquefaction is relatively common in male infertility. Normally, semen is in a liquid state immediately after ejaculation but quickly coagulates into a gel-like consistency. It typically liquefies into a watery liquid within 10–20 minutes, a process known as semen liquefaction, which is a normal physiological phenomenon. If semen remains gel-like for more than 30 minutes after ejaculation, it is referred to as seminal non-liquefaction.
6. Sperm Abnormality: If the percentage of abnormal sperm exceeds 20%, it is considered sperm abnormality. Abnormal sperm include morphological abnormalities in the head, body, or tail, or mixed abnormalities of the head and body.
7. Sperm Agglutination: Sperm agglutination occurs due to the presence of sperm antibodies, causing sperm to clump together. If sperm agglutination is observed in both sperm agglutination tests and post-coital tests, it is diagnosed as sperm agglutination, which must be differentiated from seminal coagulation disorder.
Due to the numerous types of abnormal semen and sperm disorders, they are not all introduced here.