title: Do characteristic spermatozoal morphological abnormalities exist in patients who have undergone unilateral orchiectomy and preventive radiotherapy?
abstract: METHODS
  We examined 16 men who had been subjected to unilateral orchiectomy owing to seminoma and to preventive radiotherapy, in order to investigate the morphologic abnormalities of the spermatozoa (headless and small-round-headedness) that may contribute to infertility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The same morphologic abnormalities of the head and neck found in the semen samples of fertile men were also found in the semen samples of the patients, albeit in higher percentages; the morphologic abnormalities of the tail in the semen samples of the patients were similar to those of the fertile men, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No specifically characteristic morphologic abnormalities of the spermatozoa were detected in men who were subjected to unilateral orchiectomy and to preventive radiotherapy in comparison with fertile men. The percentage rate of morphologic tail abnormalities is not affected by preventive radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Panidis
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rousso
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matalliotakis
authors.forename: Anargyros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kourtis
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mavromatidis
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mamopoulos
authors.forename: Evgenios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koumantakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy; D018239:Seminoma / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000528:radiation effects; D013082:Sperm Tail; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery