Figure 2.

Morphological defects in short-term stored semen samples. (A) Distribution of sperm defects in the samples analyzed after 24 h storage at 17 °C. In case of multiple abnormalities per spermatozoon, only one defect was assigned to the cells. The hierarchy for scoring sperm defects was: (1) multiple sperm parts (e.g., two tails), (2) loose heads, (3) acrosome defects (e.g., detached acrosome), (4) head abnormalities (e.g., tapered head), (5) abnormalities in the neck, mid-piece, principal, and end piece (e.g., bent tails), and (6) cytoplasmic droplets. (B) Exemplary phase-contrast image of boar spermatozoa with either a proximal or a distal cytoplasmic droplet.