Distribution of normal and abnormal forms among motile, non-motile, live and dead human spermatozoa

The distribution of normal and abnormal forms among motile, non-motile live, and dead spermatozoa was investigated . For this purpose samples from each specimen of 100 fertile and infertile patients was photographed twice: once with the aid of the multiple exposure photography (MEP) technique and again by an ordinary high-speed phase-contrast photomicrography. From enlarged projected photographed images, percentage of abnormal forms in both, non motile fraction and in the while sperm population were determined. By using a simple formula the percentage of abnormal forms among motile spermatozoa has been easily calculated. An average of 42% abnormal forms among all 100 analyzed specimens was found. However, this rate was not distributed equally among the two sperm populations: only 22% abnormal forms were among motile spermatozoa, contrary to 59% among non-motile spermatozoa. In 30 specimens that have been further analyzed by the combined supravital staining and the MEP method, percentage of abnormal forms among non-motile-live spermatozoa was found to be 32, and 67 among the fraction of dead spermatozoa. The importance of studying the distribution of normal forms among motile spermatozoa, and the question of any relationship of this parameter to the fertilization capacity of the semen, is discussed.