The couple recently prepared for childbirth and came to the hospital with great enthusiasm to have a semen test. The doctor asked how long he had been abstinent, and Zhang replied with a smile, “I’ve had it for ten days. The doctor regrettably said, “You can’t be examined today. It turned out that Zhang thought that a semen test would require a longer abstinence period, and that the longer the better. There are many things that many couples don’t know about fertility evaluation, so here we explain in detail the considerations related to semen analysis. We know that semen examination is an important basis for analyzing male fertility as well as helping doctors to determine diseases of the male reproductive system, and is also important for understanding the physiological functions and pathological changes of the gonads and secondary gonads, and for diagnosing male infertility and diseases of the reproductive system. So what should be noted before semen examination? 1. The requirement of abstinence time before semen specimen collection The length of abstinence time will affect the parameters of semen analysis. Therefore, the subject should be fully informed that he/she should abstain from sexual intercourse for at least 48 hours, but not more than 7 days before semen specimen collection. If a seminal plasma biochemistry test is required, 4-7 days of abstinence is recommended. It should also be noted that seminal emission is generally considered incomplete and cannot be used as a basis for calculating the number of days of abstinence. If multiple semen reviews are to be performed, the number of days of abstinence before each semen collection should be kept constant as much as possible to reduce the fluctuation of semen analysis results. 2. Semen specimen collection container If semen is collected at home and sent for examination, the collection container should be a clean and dry wide-mouthed non-spermicidal container with appropriate depth, such as a glass or plastic cup. 3, semen specimen collection methods (1) masturbation method: the recommended method of semen collection. Wash your hands and penis before masturbation, and shoot all the semen into the container by masturbation. The semen collection process should not use, lubricant or saliva, and the semen specimen should not be contaminated by urine, water, soap, etc. (2) Sperm sleeve collection method: In special cases, such as masturbation cannot successfully obtain the specimen, the specimen can be collected by ejaculating semen into a special sperm collection sleeve during sexual intercourse. 4.Transportation of semen specimens Semen specimens should be sent for examination immediately after collection. Semen specimens collected in locations other than the sperm collection room should be sent to the testing laboratory within 30 minutes, preferably not more than one hour. The specimen temperature should be maintained at 20 to 37°C during transport. In cold climates, the container in which the specimen is stored should be transported in a close-fitting garment bag. Finally, couples should be aware that the true value of semen analysis is only to facilitate the classification of patients presenting for consultation into three categories: low fertility, uncertain fertility, and good fertility; it can only indicate the degree of fertility likelihood. If the semen analysis results are abnormal, it does not mean that fertility is not possible, but the cause and treatment needs to be further analyzed in the context of medical history, etc.