Investigations on the ultrastructure of spermatozoa in chronic alcoholics.

The semen of 25 chronic alcoholics aged between 28 to 52 years was examined. The period of alcoholism amounted to 15 years the average being 12.3 years. In each person the semen was twice morphologically studied and the ultrastructure of spermatozoa was evaluated. Submicroscopic changes consisted mainly in the abnormal electron density of nuclear chromatin, altered structure of the acrosome and mitochondrial spiral, as well as in more rarely observed disturbed arrangement of fibrils of the axial filament complex. The hitherto non observed structure in human spermatozoon ön the form of single, annular, "whorls" were described. The interdependance between ultrastructural changes of spermatozoa and fertility was discussed.