I-1: Male Infertility; Past, Present and Future

1st century A.D.: Celsius reported that swollen veins over the testis associated are with small testis. Mid-19th century: Inflammation of male and female reproductive organs was treated with ointments, douches and massages. 1881: Dr. Levy a German gynecologist performed a post coital test for an infertile couple and determined that the husband was sterile (no sperm on microscopic exam). Late 19th century: Repair of varicocele for infertility described. 1929: First description of modern sperm count; Macomber and Sanders the sperm count NEJM 200 981, 1929. 1931: Sperm mature in the epididymis; W C Young J Exp boil 8 151 1931. 1939: MacLeod J; The metabolism of human sperm; Soc Exper Biol and Med 42 153. 1943: MacLeod states reactive oxygen species may affect fertility; Am. J Physi 138 512,1943. 1943: Klinefelter et al. described Klinefleter’s syndrome; J Clin Endo Meta 2 615 1942. 1952: One the first clinical books; Etiology and diagnosis in the treatment of Infertility in the men; Robert Hotchkiss. 1954: Thaddeus Mann; The biochemistry of semen and the male reproductive tract. 1976: Beer Et Al described immunologic infertility. 1978: B. P. Setchell published a definitive book on testis physiology; The mammalian testis. 1985: IVF was described; Cohen J, Edwards R, Fertility and Sterility 43:422-432,1985. 1990-91: ICSI described 1998: Micro dissection for sperm retrieval described. Human Reproduction Update Schlegel PN1998, Vol. 4, No. 4 p. 439. 2001: The relevance of environmental factors in male infertility described. 2002: The value of Aromatase inhibitors for male infertility describe by JD Raman, PN Schlegel. 2004-2009: Gene micro deletion in AZFa region of the Y chromosome described.