title: Swim-over: an alternative method for harvesting motile spermatozoa.
abstract: An alternative method for harvesting motile spermatozoa has been developed. Two plastic chambers, one with human semen and one with Earle's medium, were connected by a glass tube filled with cervical mucus. Semen samples were obtained from 18 men. Mid-cycle, sperm-free cervical mucus was provided by 18 women. During incubation aliquots were drawn from the culture chamber every hour for analysis of sperm characteristics. A pronounced increase in motility was observed. The number of penetrated sperms averaged 1 million after 3 hr. The percentage normal morphology increased from 42 +/- 11 to 73 +/- 15 (mean +/- SD). It is suggested that "swim-over" should prove useful for obtaining sperm of high quality. Further studies for refinement and evolution of the method are currently in progress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bendvold
mesh_terms: D002582:Cervix Mucus / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007315:Insemination, Artificial; D008297:Male; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013081:Sperm Motility