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. 2012 May 1;13(5):398-403.
doi: 10.1038/embor.2012.50.

Sperm counts and fertility in men: a rocky road ahead. Science & Society Series on Sex and Science

Richard M Sharpe  1
Affiliations

Sperm counts and fertility in men: a rocky road ahead. Science & Society Series on Sex and Science

Richard M Sharpe. EMBO Rep. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Sperm counts—the key factors and issues.
On the left are shown the two main factors (A,B) determining sperm count in an individual, while the right panels show the temporal change in sperm counts (C,D) and the relationship between sperm count and couple fertility (E). Full details are given in the text. The illustrated data have been adapted from the following references: A [28], B [29], C [6], D [5,9], E [4].
Figure 2
Figure 2. Age-specific change in female fertility.
(A) in relation to temporal changes in age-specific birth rates in women (B). Data in A are based on several studies in the literature whereas data in B are extracted from the Information Services Division website of the general registry office for Scotland.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Perinatal change in Sertoli cell number.
The number of Sertoli cells is in relation to testis differentiation, birth and androgen action in the masculinization programming window (MPW), as reflected by anogenital distance (AGD) in the human. In adulthood AGD is positively related to testis size, sperm count and fertility. Further details are given in the text.
None
Richard M Sharpe
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Sharpe RM, McKinnell C, Kivlin C, Fisher JS (2003) Proliferation and functional maturation of Sertoli cells, and their relevance to disorders of testis function in adulthood. Reproduction 125: 769–784 - PubMed
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    1. Carlsen E, Giwercman A, Keiding N, Skakkebaek NE (1992) Evidence for decreasing quality of semen during past 50 years. BMJ 305: 609–613 - PMC - PubMed

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