title: Testicular fine needle aspiration cytology in male infertility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the accuracy of testicular fine needle aspiration and biopsy for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparison of testicular fine needle aspiration and biopsy was performed on 34 infertile men over a 2-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Concordance of the 2 tests was evident in 88% of cases. In discordant cases fine needle aspiration yielded more than biopsy, considering the existence of secondary spermatocytes and spermatids. Charcot-Bottcher crystalloids were frequently seen in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells in normal and abnormal spermatogenesis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Testicular fine needle aspiration is a simple and cost-effective method of evaluating testicular pathology in male factor infertility. It may yield more diagnostic and therapeutic material than does biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shiraz Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monabati
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tadayon
authors.forename: Seyed Yahya
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Attaran
authors.forename: Perikala V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013737:Testis / Q000473:pathology*