Does azoospermia mean zero sperm count?

Azoospermia is the medical term for the situation in which no sperm appears in a man's ejaculate. This means that azoospermia is synonymous with a zero sperm count. Azoospermia is not, however, a clear cut problem with one cause and one treatment. There are many different factors that can lead a man to have a zero sperm count, some of which can be treated and others of which cannot. Read on to learn more about the causes of azoospermia. Sperm delivery problems are a possible cause of a zero sperm count in a man's semen sample. This means that sperm is produced in the testicles, but they have trouble getting to the penis, and outwards.

Common reasons for sperm delivery problems are a vasectomy, a blockage in the tubes that deliver sperm from the scrotum to the penis, or even a complete absence of those tubes, which are called the vas deferens. There are possible solutions; a vasectomy can sometimes be successfully be reverses, and blockages may be cleared up. In some cases, sperm can be extracted from the scrotum and used in fertility treatments. Sometimes, in other words, a person with azoospermia can have biological children. Sperm production problems can also cause a zero sperm count. In these cases, sperm is not being produced by the body at all.

Causes include a lack of pituitary hormones, which are essential to the usual sperm-creation process, and testicular failure. A varicocele, meaning swollen and inflamed blood vessels in the testicles, can also cause this. Sperm production problems can sometimes be solved with medication or surgically. Azoospermia can be diagnosed through a sperm analysis. Once it becomes clear that a man has no sperm in his ejaculate, further diagnostic steps can be undertaken to identify the cause of the absence of sperm.