[Meiotic chromosomes and masculine infertility: evaluation of results]

Meiotic chromosome studies in male infertility are controversial: some authors find them useful, others do not. Indeed, interpretation of data already published is still difficult, for some main reasons discussed in the text: the small volume of testicular tissue available for observation, the lack of uniformity in the selection of patients from series to series, the presentation of the results. Nevertheless, critical analysis of the literature leads to the conclusion that in 10% of patients whom underwent testicular biopsy, meiotic chromosome anomalies can easily explain their infertility. Our personal series of 450 cases confirms this order of magnitude. Therefore, we think that meiotic chromosome analysis is certainly useful in the evaluation of male infertility, both for diagnosis and prognosis.