Semen samples were collected by masturbation under asceptic conditions from men who had sired children within the past 6 mo (group A) and asymptomatic men attending an infertility clinic who had not sired children and whose wives were asymptomatic for infertility (group B). These 109 semen samples were analyzed and cultured for isolation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Overall, 68% of the specimens had positive bacterial cultures: 54% of the samples from group A were positive and 73% from group B were positive. Mixed bacterial flora were isolated from both groups but in group B they were more varied and present in a higher colony count than in group A. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staph. aureus, Corynebacterium species, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum were isolated from group A. Group B revealed these organisma plus Streptococcus pneumoniae type 111, Strep. pyogenes group A, Strep. feacalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Candida albicans, Bacteroides species, Peptostreptococcus species, and Eubacterium species. Semen samples from group A were of better quality than those from group B. In addition, the antibacterial effect of seminal plasma from group A was greater than that from group B.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.