Questions about male semen

The semen referred to in modern reproductive physiology is composed of two parts: the fluid secreted by the seminal vesicles, prostate, and bulbourethral glands, and the sperm　　produced by the testes and stored in the epididymis . A normal male ejaculates about 1-6 milliliters, which contains 200-500 million sperm.

　　As the carrier and guardian of sperm, the primary task of semen is to safely transport a certain amount of sperm into the female genitalia to obtain the chance of conception. Semen is weakly alkaline, which can neutralize the acidic substances in the vagina, which is conducive to the movement of sperm. Semen has the function of providing energy and nutrients for sperm to ensure normal reproductive activities. So we can call semen the messenger of life from men without exaggeration.

　　However, in daily outpatient clinics, many people are often ignorant of common sense issues such as the amount, thickness, and color of semen, causing many unnecessary panics.

Doubts about “more and less”

　　A college student wrote to say that he had frequent wet dreams recently , and at the beginning he had a lot of semen once or twice, and then the amount of semen became less and less, and he was worried that the semen would be lost. Some newlywed couples have more frequent sex life during the honeymoon stage. At the beginning, the amount of ejaculated semen is more, but later it becomes less and less, so they have similar concerns. There are also some young men who find that after a certain masturbation and ejaculation, the semen is significantly less than before, but it is only a few drops. They are also worried that it will affect their future sex life and fertility.

　　In fact, these worries are superfluous. A man has semen in his body from the first nocturnal emission to the end of his life, and the amount of semen in a man cannot be calculated. Nocturnal emission, masturbation, and frequent sexual intercourse will consume a lot of semen, but the seminal vesicles, prostate gland, and bulbourethral gland, like other glands in the body, will secrete continuously as long as they function normally, so the semen will not be exhausted. Some young men masturbate frequently, once a few days or even several times a day, which will significantly reduce the amount of semen.

　　The reason is very simple. Although the human body has a strong ability to produce sperm and semen, which can be replenished within 1-2 days after ejaculation, but if ejaculation is too frequent, there will still be a “supply in short supply” situation. The lack of semen caused by this situation is of course not a disease , and there is no need to worry about it. Prolonging the ejaculation interval will heal without treatment. However, if the amount of semen is too small every time, it is morbid. In the cases of male infertility, the infertility caused by too little semen (less than 1 ml) accounts for about 2% of the total cases. The cause of too little semen may be abnormal testicular function, endocrine disorders, seminal vesicles, prostate disease or urethral stricture. This type of oligospermia is easy to identify. You only need to abstain from sex or masturbation for 5-7 days and then discharge semen again. Those who have more semen than before have no disease, otherwise it is pathological oligospermia.

　　So, is too much semen good? Similar to the situation of too little semen, too much semen, such as more than 7 ml, is also a morbid state, mostly caused by inflammation of the seminal vesicles. The essence of hyperspermia is excessive secretion or exudation of seminal plasma, while the total number of sperm does not change. This will obviously cause a decrease in the density of sperm in the semen, affecting the chances of conception. Due to the influence of pathological factors such as inflammation in the excessive secretion of seminal plasma, it will interfere with the activity and function of sperm. In addition, the amount of semen is too much, resulting in too much semen after sexual intercourse, which will bring out a large number of sperm and lose them from the vagina, reducing the chance of conception. Therefore, semen is not the more the better.