EVALUATION OF INTRATESTICULAR VASCULARITY IN INFERTILE AZOOSPERMIC SUBJECTS AS A NEW PARAMETER OF TESTICULAR FUNCTION

Abstract

Azoospermia frequently represents the end -point of different pathological conditions that cause imp01tant quantitative and qualitative alterations of both spermatogenesis and testicular structure, including intratesticular blood vessels. The aim of this study is to evaluate the intratesticular vascularity of normal fertile male, to evaluate whether testicular blood flow is impaired in the presence of a primary testicular pathology and whether its distribution makes it possible to identify isolated spermatogenic foci and to explore the presence of correlation between intratesticular vascularity and the testicular histopathology.

In this study 54 azoospermic patients were included and divided into two groups, group A, which included 42 patients with functional azoospermia and group B, which included I 2 patients with obstructive azoospennia. Another 20 recently fertile male were taken as a control. There was a statistical significant difference regarding the T.V., FSH, least area score and P.S.V between the functional group and the other two groups. There was statistical significant difference regarding overall vascularity and best area score between the three groups with highest value for control group and lowest value of functional group. Histopathological studies were correlated to the testicular vascularity, it was shown that the overall vascularity was highest in the spermatid arrest group, lowest in the hyalinization group with observed step rise of the intratesticular vascularity with the rise in the maturation level of spermatogenesis. The obstructive group showed lower vascularity than the control group but the vascularity was significantly higher than the functional group.