Tina Tinkerson is 33 years old and Thomas Tinkerson is 29 years old. The couple has been trying to conceive for three years. Tina has had four miscarriages within that 3-year period. Tina has tried acupuncture and natural fertility supplements for the past year. Thomas recently saw a physician for erectile dysfunction and the physician noted the presence of varicoceles on his testicles during his last physical examination. Below is Thomas's semen analysis. Semen Analysis Normal Thomas
Total Volume 2.0 ml+ 0.2 ml
Sperm Concentration 2.0 million/ ml+ 1.0 million /ml
Motility 50%+ 76%
Normal Morphology 30% + 54%
Total Sperm Count 40 million+ 2.6 million
Total Sperm Sperm 20 million + 1.8 million
Total Functional Sperm 6 million + 650,000

Required:
a. In your own words what are varicoceles?
b. How are Thomas's varicoceles affecting the couple's ability to conceive?
c. After two years of fertility treatment, Tina is pregnant. When Tina is in week 6 of her pregnancy, the doctor tells her that there are issues with her ovaries, and they must be removed as soon as possible. The doctor tells her that she must wait until the fetus is past 12 weeks fetal development- if the ovaries are removed before this time, the baby will not survive. Why?