Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: Nakano,Fabiana Y.
Data de Publicação: 2015
Outros Autores: Leão,Rogério de Barros F., Esteves,Sandro C.
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: eng
Título da fonte: MedicalExpress (São Paulo. Online)
Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2358-04292015000200007
Resumo: Unexplained infertility diagnosis is made in the presence of a normal semen analysis when tubal patency and normal ovulatory function are established. Among several potential causes, unexplained infertility could be attributed to vaginal pH and cervical mucus abnormalities. Although the vaginal canal and the cervix generally function as effective barriers to sperm, and although the production of mucus is essential to transport them from the vagina to the uterine cavity, these factors receive little attention in the investigation of couples with unexplained infertility. A substantial reduction in sperm number occurs as they transverse the cervix. From an average of 200 to 300 million sperm deposited in the vagina, only a few hundred achieve proximity to the oocyte. Given this expected high spermatozoa loss, a slight modification in cervical mucus may rapidly transform the cervix into a "hostile" environment, which, together with changes in vaginal environment and cervix structure, may prevent natural conception and be a cause of infertility. In this review, we discuss the physiological role of the vaginal pH and cervical mucus in fertility, and describe several conditions that can render the cervical mucus hostile to sperm and therefore be implicated in the pathophysiology of unexplained infertility.
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spelling Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertilitySperm transportCervix mucusHydrogen ion concentrationSperm agglutinationUterine cervix diseaseVaginal diseaseFemale infertilityUnexplained infertilityUnexplained infertility diagnosis is made in the presence of a normal semen analysis when tubal patency and normal ovulatory function are established. Among several potential causes, unexplained infertility could be attributed to vaginal pH and cervical mucus abnormalities. Although the vaginal canal and the cervix generally function as effective barriers to sperm, and although the production of mucus is essential to transport them from the vagina to the uterine cavity, these factors receive little attention in the investigation of couples with unexplained infertility. A substantial reduction in sperm number occurs as they transverse the cervix. From an average of 200 to 300 million sperm deposited in the vagina, only a few hundred achieve proximity to the oocyte. Given this expected high spermatozoa loss, a slight modification in cervical mucus may rapidly transform the cervix into a "hostile" environment, which, together with changes in vaginal environment and cervix structure, may prevent natural conception and be a cause of infertility. In this review, we discuss the physiological role of the vaginal pH and cervical mucus in fertility, and describe several conditions that can render the cervical mucus hostile to sperm and therefore be implicated in the pathophysiology of unexplained infertility.Mavera Edições Técnicas e Científicas Ltda2015-03-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontext/htmlhttp://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2358-04292015000200007MedicalExpress v.2 n.2 2015reponame:MedicalExpress (São Paulo. Online)instname:Mavera Edições Científicas e Técnicas Ltda-MEinstacron:METC10.5935/MedicalExpress.2015.02.07info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessNakano,Fabiana Y.Leão,Rogério de Barros F.Esteves,Sandro C.eng2016-03-14T00:00:00Zoai:scielo:S2358-04292015000200007Revistahttp://www.medicalexpress.net.brhttps://old.scielo.br/oai/scielo-oai.php||medicalexpress@me.net.br2358-04292318-8111opendoar:2016-03-14T00:00MedicalExpress (São Paulo. Online) - Mavera Edições Científicas e Técnicas Ltda-MEfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
title Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
spellingShingle Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
Nakano,Fabiana Y.
Sperm transport
Cervix mucus
Hydrogen ion concentration
Sperm agglutination
Uterine cervix disease
Vaginal disease
Female infertility
Unexplained infertility
title_short Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
title_full Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
title_fullStr Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
title_full_unstemmed Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
title_sort Insights into the role of cervical mucus and vaginal pH in unexplained infertility
author Nakano,Fabiana Y.
author_facet Nakano,Fabiana Y.
Leão,Rogério de Barros F.
Esteves,Sandro C.
author_role author
author2 Leão,Rogério de Barros F.
Esteves,Sandro C.
author2_role author
author
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Nakano,Fabiana Y.
Leão,Rogério de Barros F.
Esteves,Sandro C.
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv Sperm transport
Cervix mucus
Hydrogen ion concentration
Sperm agglutination
Uterine cervix disease
Vaginal disease
Female infertility
Unexplained infertility
topic Sperm transport
Cervix mucus
Hydrogen ion concentration
Sperm agglutination
Uterine cervix disease
Vaginal disease
Female infertility
Unexplained infertility
description Unexplained infertility diagnosis is made in the presence of a normal semen analysis when tubal patency and normal ovulatory function are established. Among several potential causes, unexplained infertility could be attributed to vaginal pH and cervical mucus abnormalities. Although the vaginal canal and the cervix generally function as effective barriers to sperm, and although the production of mucus is essential to transport them from the vagina to the uterine cavity, these factors receive little attention in the investigation of couples with unexplained infertility. A substantial reduction in sperm number occurs as they transverse the cervix. From an average of 200 to 300 million sperm deposited in the vagina, only a few hundred achieve proximity to the oocyte. Given this expected high spermatozoa loss, a slight modification in cervical mucus may rapidly transform the cervix into a "hostile" environment, which, together with changes in vaginal environment and cervix structure, may prevent natural conception and be a cause of infertility. In this review, we discuss the physiological role of the vaginal pH and cervical mucus in fertility, and describe several conditions that can render the cervical mucus hostile to sperm and therefore be implicated in the pathophysiology of unexplained infertility.
publishDate 2015
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2015-03-01
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
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dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2358-04292015000200007
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dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv 10.5935/MedicalExpress.2015.02.07
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Mavera Edições Técnicas e Científicas Ltda
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Mavera Edições Técnicas e Científicas Ltda
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv MedicalExpress v.2 n.2 2015
reponame:MedicalExpress (São Paulo. Online)
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reponame_str MedicalExpress (São Paulo. Online)
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