Pathology of Infertility

Description from BarnesandNoble.com

From Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Francis H. Straus II, MD, MS (University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine)

Description: This reference book deals with the genetic, developmental, infectious, immunologic, iatrogenic, and endocrine causes of infertility in both sexes. The book begins with overall statistics and workup of the infertile couple. This is a new book without previous subject coverage in the pathology literature.

Purpose: The book intends to provide current concepts of male and female infertility with a primary emphasis on morphology. Clinical features, laboratory findings, and treatment, are also included "because the pathologist does not work in a vacuum." Because of greater coverage in standard texts, the more common causes of infertility such as pelvic inflammatory disease and testicular tumors are treated more sketchily here.

Audience: This book is directed primarily at pathologists but could be of considerable use to physicians caring for infertile patients, such as urologists and obstetricians-gynecologists. This book's focus is sharper than that sought by most students and trainees.

Features: The format is standard with more than 200 pages organized in 9 chapters with references at the end of each chapter. Illustrations are quite good and are fairly frequent, consisting of black-and-white gross photos and photomicrographs, black-and-white drawings, and various lists and tables. There are 1,100 index items and 1,185 references, amounting to reasonably complete coverage. This book is conservatively designed and is attractive.

Assessment: This book fulfills a need and follows its objective in presenting thepathology of infertility. Some disorganization is apparent in its trying to cover both male and female infertility under the same causation classification. Also, endocrine abnormalities overlap with genetic and developmental defects. Despite these problems, this book is highly recommended for a reference book and for use in a working pathology laboratory.

Table of Contents

• Basic concepts of infertility   1
• Definition of infertility   1
• Prevalence and incidence of infertility   2
• Causes of infertility   3
• Treatment of infertility   5
• Clinical evaluation of the infertile couple   7
• Clinical evaluation of the male patient   7
• Work-up of the female patient   23
• Clinical evaluation of the infertile couple   38
• Disorders of sexual differentiation and development   43
• Normal development   43
• Abnormalities of sexual differentiation   49
• Adrenogenital syndromes   61
• Androgen insensitivity   67
• Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism   70
• Autosomal abnormalities associated with gonadal changes   72
• Developmental anomalies of the reproductive organs   79
• Anomalies of the testis   79
• Congenital anomalies of the epididymis and vas deferens   91
• Anomalies of the seminal vesicles, the ejaculatory ducts, the prostate   92
• Anomalies of the penis and scrotum   93
• Anomalies of the female genital organs   97
• Infectious causes of infertility   105
• Infections of the male genital tract   105
• Infections of the female genital organs 113
• Physical, chemical, immune, and iatrogenic causes of infertility   125
• Traumatic lesions of the male reproductive organs   125
• Lesions related to surgery   127
• Autoimmune disorders   129
• Effects of chemotherapy on the testis   130
• Radiation-induced changes   131
• Varicocele   131
• Trauma of the female genital organs   134
• Postpartum and postabortion lesions 134
• Tubal sterilization   135
• Contraceptive devices   135
• Effects of chemotherapy on the ovary   136
• Radiation injury   136
• Autoimmune lesions of the female reproductive organs   138
• Infertility due to endocrine disorders   145
• Hypothalamic and pituitary lesions   145
• Testicular tumors   149
• Adrenal tumors   152
• Ovarian tumors   152
• Polycystic ovary syndrome   154
• Ovarian stromal hyperthecosis   157
• Massive ovarian edema and fibromatosis   158
• Endometriosis   158
• Luteal phase deficiency   159
• Salpingitis isthmica nodosa   161
• Consequences of hormonal treatment   163
• Abnormal spermatogenesis   171
• Germ cell aplasia   171
• Maturation arrest of spermatogenesis   172
• Hypospermatogenesis   175
• Structural and functional defects of spermatozoa   176
• Tubular hyalinization and interstitial fibrosis   177
• Germ cell neoplasia   177
• Pathology of the conceptus and early pregnancy   183
• Pathology of the zygote and cleavage-stage embryos   183
• Pathology of implantation   185
• Gestational trophoblastic disease   190