| -spermia, Further information: Testicular infertility factors |
| (Oligo)spermia - few spermatozoa in semen |
| (Hypo)spermia - small semen volume |
| (A)spermia - complete lack of semen |
| (Azoo)spermia - absence of sperm cells in semen |
| (Terato)spermia - sperm with abnormal morphology |
| (Asthenozoo)spermia - reduced sperm motility |
Teratospermia or teratozoospermia is a condition characterized by the presence of sperm with abnormal morphology that affects fertility in males.
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The causes of teratospermia are unknown in most cases. However, Hodgkin's disease, coeliac disease, and Crohn's disease may contribute in some instances.[1]
In cases of globozoospermia (sperm with round heads), the Golgi apparatus is not transformed into the acrosome that is needed for fertilization.[2]
The presence of abnormally-shaped sperm can negatively affect fertility by reducing sperm motility and/or preventing sperm from adhering to the ovum. Achieving a pregnancy may be difficult.[3]
In testing for teratospermia, sperm are collected and analyzed under a microscope to detect abnormalities. These abnormalities may include heads that are large, small, tapered, or pyriform or tails that are abnormally shaped.[4]
Antiestrogens have been shown to be effective in the treatment of teratospermia. [3]
Teratozoospermia (including the globozoospermia[5] type), may be treated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), injecting sperm directly into the egg.[6] Once the egg is fertilized, abnormal sperm morphology does not appear to influence blastocyst development or blastocyst morphology.[6] Even with severe teratozoospermia, microscopy can still detect the few sperm cells that have a "normal" morphology, allowing for optimal success rate.[6]
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