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CHAPTER 1.3
The use of density gradient centrifugation to select a superior sperm population was first
described in the early 1980’s. This technique gained interest due to the increased use of many of the
specialized reproductive techniques. The (clinical) use in domestic animal reproduction remained
minimal because of the inability to process large volumes of semen. More recently, this technique
has been modified to a single layer centrifugation so larger volumes of semen could be selected,
enabling the processing of entire stallions’ ejaculates in a limited number of tubes (Morrell et al.,
2009). This selection technique might prove valuable when processing a suboptimal semen sample.
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