Most Common Male Fertility Problems

Male Fertility Vocabulary

•   CBAVD—Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens. Men with CBAVD are born without any vas deferens—the tubes which lead from each testicle to the penis—making it impossible for sperm to travel to the urethra.
•   hCG—Human chorionic gonadotropin. Used to jumpstart testosterone production in men with hypogonadism, a condition in which the testicles produce little or none of the hormone.
•   ICSI—Intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In this procedure, a single retrieved sperm is injected directly into an egg to help spur fertilization.
•   IVF—In vitro fertilization. A procedure in which an egg and sperm are combined in the laboratory to facilitate fertilization. The resulting embryos are transferred to a woman’s uterus.
•   MESA—Microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration. A procedure for collecting sperm from men whose reproductive ducts are blocked, usually as a result of a vasectomy or CBAVD (see above).
•   TESE—Testicular sperm extraction. A surgical procedure to remove a pea-sized sample of sperm-containing tissue from the testicles. The living sperm are then used in an IV.

A version of this article originally appeared in the Summer 2005 issue of Conceive Magazine.

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