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Sonography in male infertility: a look beyond the obvious

  • Pictorial Essay
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Abstract

Infertility affects 15–20% of the reproductive age range population; the male factor accounts for up to 40–60% of these. With female factor infertility catching most of the limelight in research, diagnosis and treatment, the other half of the problem has not been duly addressed. Imaging has an important role to play in the evaluation of male infertility, especially to identify correctible (obstructive) causes. We review the scrotal, trans-rectal sonographic and Doppler findings in infertile men to aid in the accurate diagnosis and proper management of such patients.

Sommario

L’infertilità colpisce il 15–20% della popolazione in età riproduttiva e il sesso maschile rappresenta il 40–60% di questa percentuale. L’infertilità femminile continua ad essere il polo di attrazione principale della ricerca, della diagnosi e del trattamento mentre l’altra metà del problema non è stata ancora adeguatamente affrontata. L’imaging svolge un ruolo importante nella valutazione dell'infertilità maschile, specialmente per identificare le cause correggibili (ostruttive). In questo pictorial essay valutiamo i risultati dell’ecografia scrotale, trans-rettale ed eco-Doppler in uomini infertili per indicare una corretta metodologia per una diagnosi accurata e quindi per una efficace gestione di tali pazienti.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Imaging, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Prateek Sihag, Anupama Tandon, Raj Pal, Shuchi Bhatt, Simranjeet Kaur & Arpita Sinha

  2. Department of Surgery, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    B. K. Jain

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  1. Prateek Sihag
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  2. Anupama Tandon
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  3. Raj Pal
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  4. B. K. Jain
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Correspondence to Prateek Sihag.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Sihag, P., Tandon, A., Pal, R. et al. Sonography in male infertility: a look beyond the obvious. J Ultrasound 21, 265–276 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-018-0294-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-018-0294-5

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