The state of absolute infertility or complete infertility, with no chance of getting pregnant without special help. Causes include azoospermia, anovulation (especially primary ovarian failure), and blocked fallopian tubes.

Synonymous with sterility, or 100 percent infertility; also called complete infertility.

An operation to remove the colon, performed in children for Hirschsprung's disease and in young women chiefly for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and notorious for leaving the fallopian tubes caught up in "repaired" serosa of the pelvic peritoneal cavity, producing a hydrosalpinx on the left side, with resultant sterility, even though the tube on the right side might be normal.

(SCSA) A measurement of the proportion of sperm cells that have damaged DNA. Fewer than 15% is consistent with normal fertility; 15%-30% can result in subfertility; and more than 30% may cause sterility or recurrent miscarriage.

An operation designed to induce sterility. In men, usually carried out by removing small segments of each vas deferens (vasectomy); in women, usually carried out by removing, clipping or otherwise destroying a small segment of each fallopian tube, preferably close to the uterus (often called tubal ligation).

Infertility that is not 'absolute', or 'complete infertility' -- that is, there is a chance of pregnancy: it is not sterility (these last 3 terms are synonyms) -- but the chance of getting pregnant each month (fecundability or monthly fertility) is reduced. More or less definite causes can include oligospermia, polycystic ovary syndrome and other causes of oligomenorrhea, endometriosis, peritubal adhesions, fibroids (especially submucous fibroids) and increased age, especially of the woman. Synonymous with relative infertility.