**The Importance of Semen Quality in AI Programs and Advances in Laboratory Analyses for Semen Characteristics Assessment**

Leticia Zoccolaro Oliveira, Fabio Morato Monteiro, Rubens Paes de Arruda and Eneiva Carla Carvalho Celeghini

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52022

**1. Introduction**

expertise from different continents, level of practices and interests have come together to produce a practicable compiled knowledge. This makes the book a valuable scholarly material for veterinarians working in AI industry, veterinary students, researchers and

> **Dr. Alemayehu Lemma** Department of Clinical Studies Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Addis Ababa University

> > Ethiopia

livestock practitioners.

VIII Preface

In the last decades, livestock sector has undergone a process of biotechnology incorporation with the main goal of enhancing productivity and improving the genetic makeup. In this sense, artificial insemination (AI) is considered as the most important biotechnology incorporated into livestock production systems because it implies the use and/or globalization of proven bulls, which represent a key tool in obtaining animals with higher genetic merit [1].

The wide use of bovine AI was mainly attributed to the development of methods that ensured cell viability after storage for long periods by reducing sperm metabolism, due to important progresses in studies involving cryoprotectants [2].

Nowadays, AI is considered as the most worldwide used reproductive biotechnology [3] with an extremely interesting benefit-cost relationship. Despite the unquestionable role of this biotechnology in improving productivity, many causes have accounted for the range in results and/or some unsatisfactory indices of bovine AI programs, highlighting several factors inherent to female physiology and/or farm management [4-9]. Nevertheless, another factor positively correlated with the AI outcomes that require appropriate attention, correspond to quality of semen samples used in the programs [10]. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to review the importance of the quality of semen used in reproductive programs as well as the use of laboratory tests for predicting bull fertility.

© 2013 Oliveira et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
