Nancy asked 1) If a man has one testicle removed, does it lower his sperm count?
If it does, it's not by much. With the loss of one testic you get "compensatory testicular hypertrophy." Essentially, the loss of a one source of testosterone causes an increase in the production of anterior pituitary gonadotrophins through the traditional negative feedback loop. The increased release of LH gets T levels back to normal levels and the rise in FSH increases spermatogenesis. 2) If some women have fertility problems because their immune systems attack either the sperm or the developing embryo, does a weakened immune system mean an elevated chance of becoming pregnant? I don't know the answer to this one but I would hypothesize that with a weakend immune sytem there are too many other things that could interfere with pregnancy. There might be a greater chance of insemination but a lower chance of implantation and carrying to term. That's my hypothesis. (Because I have a Ph.D. I can call it a "hypothesis." Without the Ph.D. you'd have to call it a guess...... or "B.S." <g>) Ed Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania Office hours: Mondays noon-2 & 3-4; Tuesdays & Thursdays 8-9:15 a.m. and 12:30-2 p.m. Web site: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm <http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm> --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: archive@jab.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
