Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

May, 2003,Case 305-3. Quiz set! Click here to see.

A 39 year-old Man with Primary Infertility

Clinical information: A 39 year-old man presented with a 12-year history of infertility. His previous spermiograms which demonstrated azoospermia.  He had normal secondary male characteristics.  His testosterone level was 386 ng/dL (reference range 270 - 1730 ng/dL), and his follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level was elevated at 17.9 mIU/mL (reference range 1.0 - 7.9 mIU/mL).  Past medical history was negative for mumps, testicular trauma, erectile dysfunction, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy.  He had no known systemic illness.  Physical examination revealed bilaterally descended testes that were slightly smaller than normal.  No testicular masses were palpated.  A testicular biopsy was performed and yielded two cores of soft cream-colored tissue of 0.4 cm in length. The specimen was fixed in Bouin's solution.  Representative photomicrographs are shown below.

Com305-3-HE-MM1.gif (104657 bytes) Com305-3-HE-MM2.gif (55891 bytes) Com305-3-HE-HM2.gif (104576 bytes) Com305-3-HE-HM1.gif (80648 bytes)Click thumbnails to see pictures.

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