Body fluids—Semen

Question 1

4 fractions of semen and what makes them

Answer 1

1. pre-ejaculatory secretion; bulbourethral and urethral mucous glands
2. sperm; testis and epididymis
3. acid phosphatase + proteolytic enzymes; prostate
4. fructose; seminal vesicles

Question 2

65% of ejaculate
30% of ejaculate

Answer 2

seminal vesicle component
prostate component

Question 3

3 reasons for doing sperm tests

Answer 3

1. fertility assessment
2. post-vasectomy
3. forensics

Question 4

period of abstinence before semen collection

Answer 4

2-7 days

Question 5

specimen analysis on semen should start within…

Answer 5

60 mins of collection

Question 6

if semen cannot be analyzed immediately…

Answer 6

37° water bath

Question 7

semen takes —– mins to spontaneously liquefy

Answer 7

10-20

Question 8

normal semen volume

Answer 8

1.5-5.0 mL

Question 9

effect of high semen volume on fertility

Answer 9

dilutional effect
causes infertility problems

Question 10

normal semen pH

Answer 10

≥ 7.2

average around 8.4

Question 11

3 categories of semen viscosity

Answer 11

• nonviscous (normal): pours easily in small drops
• semiviscous: tends to string, still drops
• viscous: does not flow, cannot pipette

Question 12

3 categories of semen liquefaction

Answer 12

• liquefied: no clumps
• partially coagulated: some clumps
• coagulated: one solid mass

Question 13

before assessing sperm motility…

Answer 13

warm in 37° bath for 10 min

Question 14

sperm motility is assessed with a —–μL drop on —x and ———

Answer 14

10
40
phase

Question 15

3 categories of sperm motility

Answer 15

• progressive
• nonprogressive
• immotile

Question 16

% motility =

Answer 16

% progressive + % nonprogressive

Question 17

normal motility

Answer 17

≥40%, and ≥32% should be progressive

Question 18

performed if sperm motility is <40%

Answer 18

vitality stain

dead sperm stain pink/red
alive sperm remain white

Question 19

semen agglutination is performed on —–x and graded as…

Answer 19

20

0/absent
1+: <10sperm/clump
2+: 10-50/clump
3+: >50/clump
4+: all sperm clumped

Question 20

for sperm count, make a —— dilution with ————–

Answer 20

1:20
sterile water

Question 21

low sperm count

Answer 21

oligospermia

Question 22

how to count sperm on hemocytometer

Answer 22

count large center square row by row until 200 are counted, then finish row you are on

may use left and right center squares if necessary, but no others

only count sperm with head and tail

Question 23

modification to sperm count formula

Answer 23

multiply by 1000 to report in cells/mL

units for reporting are ## million/mL

Question 24

normal sperm count

Answer 24

≥ 15 million/mL

Question 25

stain used to assess sperm morphology

Answer 25

Papanicolaou stain

Question 26

light staining top of sperm

Answer 26

acrosome

Question 27

neck of sperm

Answer 27

mid-piece

Question 28

cells found in semen

Answer 28

• sperm
• WBCs
• epithelials
• RBCs
• malignant cells

Question 29

normal sperm normal forms

Answer 29

≥4% (strict criteria)

Question 30

fructose test performed on ———- samples (no sperm)

Answer 30

azospermic

Question 31

2 reasons fructose might be absent in sperm

Answer 31

• bilateral aplasia of vas deferens or seminal vesicle
• bilateral obstruction of ejaculatory ducts

Question 32

methods for determining if a sample is sperm

Answer 32

• microscopic exam
• acid phosphatase ↑↑