Semen Analysis

Sperm count:
This is a measurement of how many million sperm there are in each milliliter of semen. Normal sperm count is more than 20 million per milliliter. Counts of less than 20 million per milliliter are considered low.

Motility:
(sometimes referred to as the "mobility" or sperm movement)
This describes the percentage of sperm that are moving. 50% or more of the sperm should be moving in a normal forward movement.

Morphology:
This describes the shape of the sperm. The sperm are examined under a microscope and must meet specific sets of criteria for several characteristics in order to be considered normal. Some abnormal sperm are usually found in every semen sample. There are two commonly used criteria, WHO and Kruger Strict Morphology. Under WHO criteria, greater than 30% normal morphology is considered normal. Under Kruger Strict criteria greater than 15% normal morphology is considered normal. The University of Michigan Medical Center uses the Kruger strict criteria.

Volume:
This is a measurement of the volume of a single ejaculate. Normal is 2 milliliters (about half a teaspoon)or greater. The volume may be low if a man is anxious when producing a specimen, or if the entire specimen is not collected.

Total Motile Count:
This is the number of moving sperm in the entire ejaculate. It is calculated by multiplying the volume by the concentration (million sperm/ml) by the motility (% moving). There should be more than 20 million motile sperm in the ejaculate.