Varicocele :

Varicocele is a common cause of male infertility -- a condition where the veins in the spermatic cord in the scrotum become abnormally dilated and tortuous.

How Common?                                

Varicocele is the commonest cause of low sperm count with poor motility (oligoasthenozoospermia)

Fifteen percent of the general male population:                                             Forty percent of men evaluated for primary infertility and                              Fifty percent of men evaluated for secondary infertility have varicocele.

Varicocele , in fact is the most common identifiable and surgically correctable factor contributing to poor testicular function and decreased semen quality.

How is it Diagonised?

A) Clinical Examination: The doctor examines the patient in the standing posture and feels the spermatic cord - the cord-like structure from which the testis hangs. Varicocele feels like a bunch of worms in a bag. On coughing, this feel gets transiently exaggerated.

B) Color doppler sonography  is the                                                      most accurate and objective method of detecting and documenting a varicocele.

Grades of varicocele: