Patient's question:
I have been married for six years, and my wife has never been pregnant. I don't know if it's an issue with either of us, so I want to get checked. Could you please tell me what tests need to be done, which items to check, and what the units of the items are? Please let me know, thank you.Doctor's answer:
Alright, in male infertility patients, most men will exhibit symptoms such as low semen quality or insufficient sperm motility. Therefore, routine semen analysis is particularly important in infertility testing. If no sperm is found in the semen analysis, blood hormone testing or testicular tissue biopsy should be performed to assess the testicular spermatogenic capacity. If issues such as vas deferens obstruction are suspected, a vasography can be conducted to determine whether there is an obstruction, the extent of the obstruction, or its location. Additionally, a karyotype test is necessary. This test can identify the fundamental cause or etiology of testicular dysfunction. Blood hormone testing is also required to determine whether the pathology is within the testes themselves or in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. Of course, there is also a biochemical test, which can assess the function of the epididymis, prostate, and seminal vesicles. Representative chemical components of each organ are selected—for example, fructose is measured for seminal vesicle issues, citric acid and acid phosphatase for prostate issues, and carnitine and glycerophosphocholine for epididymal issues. For patients with normal semen quality and a presumably normal female partner, an immunological test should be performed to check for the presence of antisperm antibodies.