Subzonal sperm insemination and total or extreme asthenozoospermia: an effective technique for an uncommon cause of male infertility.

Objective: To assess the value of subzonal insemination (SUZI) in cases of total or extreme asthenozoospermia.

Design: The results of IVF after SUZI were assessed in six cycles (four couples) with documented asthenozoospermia.

Setting: Institut de Médecine de la Reproduction, Marseille, France.

Quantified ultrastructural study of spermatozoa in unexplained failure of in vitro fertilization.

Failure of in vitro fertilization or very low cleavage rates may occur even though oocyte and semen parameters seem satisfactory. Quantified ultrastructural study of spermatozoa was performed in such cases of failure (n = 6) or low cleavage rate (< 20%; n = 4). Through 1 to 11 retrievals, the number of inseminated oocytes ranged from 14 to 145.

Mesonephric origin of the gonadal primitive medulla in chick embryos.

The development of the gonadal primitive medulla in embryonic chick gonads was studied with the light microscope, using serial longitudinal sections from 72 h to 108 h of incubation. The sex of embryos was established from karyotypes. At 72 h, the germinal epithelium in the genital ridges was thickened.

[Role of HY antigen in human and mammalian gonadal organogenesis (author's transl)].

H-Y (histocompatibility Y) antigen plays a role in gonadal organogenesis, which is poorly understood. Indeed, it is not immunologically well-defined. The use of cytotoxicity tests cannot lead to a right quantification of its expression.