Objective: A survey of knowledge and detection methods of sperm chromatin integrity disturbances. Design: Review of literature. Setting: Veterinary Research Institute, Brno. Methods: A survey of experience with detection methods for human sperm chromatin integrity disturbances. Conclusions: Disturbed sperm chromatin integrity manifested as an increase in DNA strand breaks within the spermatozoa and deficient chromosome condensation in the sperm nucleus is one of the causes of male infertility. Various approaches to the detection of such defects have been described. The methods differ above all in the time and expenses required, and robustness. The review brings a survey of the most commonly used procedures, and compares advantages and disadvantages of respective methods.

        Key words: SCSA, chromatin integrity, sperm, DNA breaks, flow cytometry, fertility