- Motility:
- Refers to percent of sperm demonstrating any type of movement.
- Count (or Density):
- Refers to the number of sperm present.
- Morphology:
- Refers to form or shape of the sperm.
- Viability:
- Refers to whether or not the sperm are alive.
- Sperm bank:
- Place in which sperm (from donor or from husband) is stored frozen for future use in artificial insemination.
- Sperm washing:
- A technique that separates the sperm from the seminal fluid.
- Spermatogenesis:
- The production of sperm within the seminiferous tubules.
- Spinnbarkheit:
- The stretchability of cervical mucus.
- Split ejaculate:
- A method of collecting a semen specimen so that the first half of the ejaculate is caught in one container and the rest in a second container. The first half usually contains the majority of the sperm.
- Surrogate mother:
- A woman who gestates an embryo and then turns over the child to the infertile couple, who may be its genetic parents.
- Testicles:
- The male sexual glands of which there are two. Contained in the scrotum, they produce the male hormone testosterone and produce the male reproductive cells, the sperm.
- Testicular biopsy:
- Surgical excision of testicular tissue to determine the ability of the testes to produce normal sperm
- Testicular failure:
- Occurs when the testes fail to produce sperm.
- Testosterone:
- The most potent male sex hormone, produced in the testicles.
- Test-tube baby:
- A child born through in vitro fertilization.
- Thyroid gland:
- A gland located at the front base of the neck which secretes the hormone thyroid which is necessary for normal fertility.
- Tuboplasty:
- Surgical repair of fallopian tubes.
- Turner's syndrome (ovarian dysgenesis):
- A congenital abnormality of the female wherein she receives an XO instead of an XX genetic sex complement. Women with this condition are sterile.
- Ultrasound (sonography):
- A imaging technique for visualizing the growth of ovarian follicles during infertility therapy.
- Unexplained fertility:
- See idiopathic infertility.
- Urethra:
- The tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside. In men it also carries semen from the prostate to the point of ejaculation during intercourse.
- Urologist:
- A doctor who specializes in diseases of the urinary tract in men and women, and the genital organs in men.
- Uterotubogram:
- See hysterosalpingogram.
- Uterus:
- The hollow, muscular organ in the woman that holds and nourishes the fetus until the time of birth.
- Vagina:
- The birth canal opening in the woman extending from the vulva to the cervix of the uterus.
- Vaginismus:
- A spasm of the muscles around the opening of the vagina, making penetration during sexual intercourse either impossible or very painful.
- Varicocele:
- A varicose vein of the testicles, sometimes a cause of male infertility.
- Vas deferens:
- A pair of thick-walled tubes about 45cm long in the male that lead from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct in the prostate.
- Vasectomy:
- Surgery to excise part of the vas deferens to sterilize a man.
- Vasogram:
- X-ray of the sperm ducts.
- Venereal disease (VD):
- Any infection pertaining to or transmitted by sexual intercourse. Also known as STD or sexually transmitted disease - most commonly gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.
- Viscosity:
- Thickness of the semen.
- Vulva:
- The external genitalia of the female.
- Zygote:
- An embryo in early development stage.
- Zygote intra-fallopian transfer (ZIFT):
- Transfer of a zygote into a fallopian tube (usually done by laparoscopy).
© Dr. Aniruddha Malpani and Dr. Anjali Malpani www.drmalpani.com
Credits: How to Have a Baby: Overcoming Infertility
