Using the Sperm Quality Analyzer (SQA IIc) to evaluate dog ejaculates

Abstract

38 fresh ejaculates were examined, of which 23 were cryopreserved in three diluents differing in concentration of glycerol and examined after thawing. For each ejaculate we established the concentration, motility, speed of sperm, percentage of live sperm and the morphological image of the ejaculate using routine laboratory diagnosis and SQA parameters at the initial value and after a 120-minute survival test. The values of the parameters found through routine diagnosis and using the SQA device were statistically confronted. From the results it emerges that the device functions on the basis of the turbulence effect of the semen, and therefore on the intensity and character of the moving mass of sperm. From a research perspective, the SQA device is less usable, since the values it provides are not absolutely comparable with the values found through routine laboratory diagnosis. For the practitioner, however, the device may be useful, since the value of the sperm motility index (SMI) indicates the quality of the semen through the close connection of two parameters, concentration and motility. For a more precise assessment of the ejaculate, however, it is necessary to also analyse the remaining parameters of routine laboratory sperm analysis. To be useful in clinical practice for the evaluation of semen, it would be necessary to establish SMI limit values for ejaculates of varying quality.

Keywords

• dog
• ejaculate
• sperm analysis
• sperm quality analyzer (sqa)