presence of sperm antibodies in the woman or man that tend to destroy sperm action by immobilizing the sperm or making them clump together.

Entities that may attack and destroy sperm cells. These antibodies can be produced by women and by men against their own sperm.

The result of a reaction of the immune system against sperm cells (spermatozoa) and, by limiting the ability of sperm to show motility, a contributory (or occasionally the only) cause of infertility. Can be present in serum, in cervical mucus or in semen. Can be agglutinating (which make sperm stick in clumps), immobilising (which cripple sperm particularly effectively and kill them), or coating, which interfere with sperm attachment to the zona pellucida of the egg (the secondary oocyte), preventing fertilisation. The screening test for sperm antibodies involves immunobeads. See also: serum sperm antibodies

substances produced by the immune system of either men or women which are capable of inactivating sperm