WHAT IS TERATOZOOSPERMIA?

Teratozoospermia or teratospermia is an increase of abnormal sperm in a man’s sperm.

It is diagnosed when sperm with anomalous morphology exceed 85 percent and it causes infertility because most of the abnormal sperm are incapable of moving towards the egg and penetrating it.

A man has teratozoospermia when the percentage of normal spermatozoa in the ejaculate is below 4%.

Defects in sperm are classified depending on whether they appear in the head, middle section or tail.

In normal sperm, the head needs to be perfectly oval, it should have a single, long and completely unravelled tail as well as a clearly distinguishable middle section which is slightly thicker than the tail.

Teratozoospermia is a cause of infertility since most abnormal spermatozoa are unable to penetrate an egg. The reasons are not very well understood but it is known that sperm quality can be affected by various factors such as:

• Problems in testicles
• Smoking and an excess consumption of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana
• Varicocele
• Poor diet
• Vasectomies
• Diabetes mellitus
• Fevers
• Chemotherapy and radiotherapy
• Inappropriate habits which increase the temperature in testicles (saunas, tight clothing)

Depending on the extent of teratzoospermia, treatment can be contemplated in order to achieve a pregnancy.