A test of the fertilising ability of human sperm by observing their penetration into the hamster egg.
a test of the ability of a man's sperm to penetrate a hamster egg stripped of its outer membrane, the zona pellucida, Also called Hamster Zona-Free Ovum (HZFO) Test or Sperm Penetration Assay (SPA)
The hamster test is a method for diagnosing male infertility due to the inability of the sperm to penetrate the ova. Sperm are mixed with hamster eggs that have had the outer membranes removed, and the number of sperm penetrations per egg is measured.