Errors Inherent in the Performance of a Routine Semen Analysis

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Abstract
The analysis of semen specimens is the most important investigation performed on all inferile male patients. A group of 26 medical laboratory technicians and pathologists performed a semen analysis on an aliquot of the same sample of semen. The mean sperm concentration obtained was 46.7 .+-. 106/ml .+-. 40.1 (2 SD) with a range of values lying between 10 and 98 .times. 106/ml and giving a coefficient of variation of 44.3%. Similar wide ranges were seen in the visual estimation of percentage motility and abnormal morphology. Results obtained from 3 technicians, all highly experienced in performing semen analyses, produced a mean sperm concentration of 66 .+-. 106/ml with a coefficient of variation of 37.8%. When the sperm concentration in semen was low, replicate analyses of 4 separate semen specimens produced coefficients of variation that were unacceptably high.

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