Feasibility of high-frequency ultrasound for seminiferous tubule assessment and correlation of B-mode imaging with pathological findings in the testis in azoospermia.

Purpose: To determine the feasibility of high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) for assessing seminiferous tubules and to understand high-resolution B-mode images of the testes in cases of azoospermia.

Methods: We verified how the histopathological images of testicular biopsy specimens can be observed using HFUS images and measurement analysis of seminiferous tubules was performed to 28 testes of 14 cases with azoospermia who underwent preoperative ultrasound and microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE). The population consisted of obstructive azoospermia (OA) and non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), including Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS), and the other pathologies.