Introduction: Male fertility testing: the past, present, and future.

Semen analysis remains the initial laboratory evaluation for infertile men. The limitations of the standard semen analysis along with past attempts to improve the analysis of sperm are reviewed. Advances in genetic testing will lead to fewer diagnoses of idiopathic male infertility, and improvements in picking the best sperm offer hope of improved assisted reproduction outcomes. The development of simplified testing has opened up the availability of tests performed in settings without advanced laboratory facilities as well as by patients in their own homes.