The relationship between sperm chromosomal abnormalities and sperm morphology in humans

Renee H. Martin*, Alfred Rademaker

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

82 Scopus citations

Abstract

It has been suggested that an assay for sperm morphology might prove useful as an initial screen in evaluating men at risk for an increased frequency of sperm chromosomal abnormalities. In this study, the technique for analysis of human sperm chromosomes after penetration of hamster eggs was employed to determine whether there is an association between the frequency of chromosomally and morphologically abnormal sperm. 30 healthy men of proven fertility were studied. The ages of the donors ranged from 22 to 55 years. The analysis was performed "blindly" so that the technician analysing the chromosome spreads had no knowledge of the age of the donors or of the individual frequencies of morphologically abnormal sperm. There was no significant relationship between the proportion of morphologically abnormal sperm and the proportion of chromosomally abnormal sperm when controlled for age. This was true for the total frequency of chromosomal abnormalities and also for numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities. These results suggest that an assay of morphology is not a good indication of chromosomal normality in human sperm.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)159-164
Number of pages6
JournalMutation Research Letters
Volume207
Issue number3-4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1988

Keywords

  • Chromosomal abnormalities
  • Human sperm chromosomes
  • Sperm
  • Sperm morphology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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