Morphological features of testicular and epididymal spermatozoa obtained from azoospermic men.

Background. Studying of morphological features of spermatozoa obtained from men with azoospermia is due to the high rate of infertile marriages with a male factor. It is extremely important to estimate spermatozoa morphological characteristics, which can be a predictor of their fertilizing ability and therefore improve assisted reproductive technology (ART) results. Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the morphological characteristics of spermatozoa obtained during surgical inventions in patients with azoospermia. Methods. Evaluation of sperm morphology was performed using light microscopy. Statistic methods was used for data processing. Results . Morphological characteristics of spermatozoa obtained from patients with non-obstructive azoospermia were characterized by a higher rate of mixed pathology (head, neck and tail) then morphology of spermatozoa from men with obstructive azoospermia and normozoospermia (25 9 ± 1.38% vs 22.8 ± 2.44% and 34.6 ± 4.21%, respectively). Conclusion. The obtained morphology data of spermatozoa from men with obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia will allow us to introduce an algorithm for assessing sperm quality for patients undergoing ART.