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Infertility: Problems With the Man's Reproductive System
Overview
The most common cause of male infertility is low sperm count. Absence of sperm in the semen is less common, affecting 1 out of 100 men and affecting 10 to 15 out of 100 infertile men.footnote 1
Causes of sperm count problems include:
- Hormonal problems in the testicles or pituitary gland. The pituitary gland releases hormones that stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone.
- Testicular injury or failure, either present at birth (congenital) or associated with radiation or toxic chemical exposure.
- Cancer treatment with certain kinds of chemotherapy or radiation.
- Antibodies that attack sperm and that also may be present in semen. Sperm antibodies sometimes develop when a man's sperm has been exposed to his immune system (outside of the testicles). This may happen after a vasectomy, an infection, or an injury to the testicles.footnote 2
- Drug use (some prescription medicines, and marijuana and tobacco use).
- Structural problems. These include:
- A varicocele in the testicles.
- Blocked ejaculation due to a surgical vasectomy.
- Absence of a vas deferens (a birth defect that may be associated with the cystic fibrosis genes).
- Retrograde ejaculation (the ejaculation of semen into the bladder rather than out through the penis).
- Chromosomal problems (such as Klinefelter syndrome).
- Genetic problems.
See a picture of the male reproductive system.
Related Information
References
Citations
- American Society for Reproductive Medicine and Society for Male Reproduction and Urology (2008). Evaluation of the azoospermic male. Fertility and Sterility, 90(Suppl 5): S74–S77.
- Fritz MA, Speroff L (2011). Male infertility. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 8th ed., pp. 1249–1292. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Credits
Current as of: February 27, 2023
Author: Healthwise Staff
Clinical Review Board
All Healthwise education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.
Current as of: February 27, 2023
Author: Healthwise Staff
Clinical Review Board
All Healthwise education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.
