ABSTRACT
Objectives: The subject of male infertility is large and complex. While testicular biopsy has been condemned in the diagnosis of patients with testicular tumors; it has a well established place in the investigation of the sub-fertile male. This study was conducted to examine the role of testicular biopsy in patients with male infertility seen at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; Ilorin; Nigeria. Patients and Methods: A retrospective histopathological study of slides and request forms of 63 cases of testicular biopsies of patients with male infertility seen over a fourteen year period (1990-2003) was carried out. They were evaluated based on age; type of infertility and histopathological diagnosis. Result: Thirty-one (49.2) patients suffered from primary infertility and 14 (22.2) of secondary infertility; 18 (28.6) were not specified. Testicular atrophy (55.6) was the commonest histopathological diagnosis with the age range of 25 - 34 years as its peak age of occurrence. Normal testicular histology was found in 14.3of cases; maturation arrest in 25.4and hypospermatogenesis in 4.8of cases. Conclusion: The greatest value of testicular biopsy and its clinical correlation lies in its ability to differentiate curable from irremediable cases so that appropriate action can be taken. It should never be undertaken as an isolated investigation but as part of a planned study of sub-fertile male patients