Nonspermatozoal cells in human sperm: a study of 1243 subfertile and 253 fertile men.

The presence of nonspermatozoal cells (NSC) and, more particularly, of immature seminal line elements (ISLE) in the semen of subfertile men seems to result from a dysfunction of spermatogenesis. A positive correlation was found between the number of NSC and the degree of teratozoospermia, as well as between the number of NSC and the percentage of ISLE. The degree of teratozoospermia and the percentage of ISLE were also correlated. There was no correlation between the number of NSC or the percentage of ISLE and the length of sexual abstinence. The number of NSC and the initial sperm motility were negatively correlated, but this correlating seems to be directly related to teratozoospermia. In the control population a negative correlation was found between the percentage of normal spermatozoa and that of ISLE. The question is raised whether findings such as normozoospermia associated with a high percentage of ISLE should not lead to further examination of the results.