Human Reproduction vol.3 no.3 pp.311-318, 1988 Ultrastructural abnormalities of human spermatozoa *

The observation of sperm cells in the scanning and electron microscope reveals that malformed spermatozoa show either a single anomaly of each of their structural components— acrosome, nucleus, axoneme and accessory structures—or a combination of these anomalies. A defined semen profile can be established when the majority of ejaculated spermatozoa present a predominantly single anomaly or the same com-bination of associated anomalies. Only in these cases can there be a relationship between morphological defects and impair-ment of the fertilizing ability. The validity of the ultrastruc-tural examination of sperm cells depends upon the data obtained by light microscopy, and quantification of the fre-quencies of the ultrastructural alterations is necessary to define clearly the limits of abnormality. Key words: scanning and electron microscopes/human spermato-zoa/ultrastructural abnormalitie