I am looking for an answer to a question that may be a strange !!! The question is related to the age of the sperms in ejaculate. Sperm production is a continuous process and after certain period of time non ejaculated sperms are absorbed in the body that is also a simultaneous process. In this scenario, if a semen is ejaculated after prolonged abstinence say in months, then what will be the age of the sperms in the sample? Are the sperms really months old ???!!! How do we know the age of the sperms?
Thanks in advance.
Hey, There are several factors that affects on the survival rate of sperm, i.e. Nutrition, Environment, Capacitation, .... , I have done my research on cryopreservation during my work I concluded that samples were motile for 1.30 to 2 hours in water bath after that they were found dead by gradual reduction in their motility, It might be due to reduction in metabolic rate. where as in vivo reported time of sperm age varies from book to book as I know in bovines sperm livability rages as 24-70 hours in average 12-48 hours are considered, while inside women it may survive up to 5 days, further you may cite Fertility and obstetrics, veterinary reproduction and obstetrics, Arthurs veterinary reproduction books
Indeed, this is an unusual question.
If there is no ejaculation, the sperm live for about 30 days in the man's body before being destroyed and replaced. When ejaculation has occurred and the sperm then moves into the female body, the sperm lives for 2 to 5 days.
To go further, it is now accepted that spermatozoa can survive indefinitely once frozen, provided the temperature is as low as -196°C. At this temperature, spermatozoa are in a kind of suspended animation, which means that all their essential functions have completely stopped.
I recommend this article by Orr et al [1] which may answer many of your questions.
1. Orr TJ, Brennan PL. Sperm storage: distinguishing selective processes and evaluating criteria. Trends Ecol Evol. 2015 May;30(5):261-72. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.03.006. Epub 2015 Apr 3. PMID: 25843274.
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