Occupational and environmental factors affect semen quality: how exposure to mechanical viberation impacts reproductive indices

Abstract

It is well known that sperm is a unique cell with a function to be done by itself outside the body and this function is second to none for species’ continuity. The sperm mission of reaching the ova and is affected by both chemical and physical factors influence its ability to survive, move and fertilize the ova. Vibration as an environmental external physical stressor that affect semen viscosity and accordingly semen velocity, is reported to be prevalent among drivers occupied in industrial jobs whose inability to produce natural sperm compared to other occupation will be reviewed in this paper. We will also review the effects of mechanical vibrations with a special attention to shaking semen samples in assisted reproductive technologies in vitro. The effects of whole body exposure to vibrations on reproductive indices will also be investigated.