Sperm
A sperm is the male “gamete” or sex cell. It combines with the female “gamete,” called an ovum, to form a zygote. The formation process is called “fertilization.” (see ovum, zygote).
Read Also:
- Sperm function
The capability of sperm to function — to penetrate and fertilize the egg.
- Sperm motility
The percentage of all moving sperm in a semen sample. In a semen sample, 50% or more of the sperm should normally be moving rapidly.
- Sperm stem cell
A cell that is incapable of fertilizing an egg cell but can give rise to cells that develop into sperm. Sperm stem cells can be grown in laboratory culture, providing a ready source of these cells, as was first demonstrated in mice. Also called a spermatogonial stem cell.
- Spermatic cord
A group of structures that go through the inguinal canal to the testis. These structures include the vas deferens, arteries, veins, lymphatic vessels, and nerves.
- Spermatocide
Any agent that is destructive to spermatozoa (that is, kills sperm). Nonoxynol-9 is the most commonly encountered spermatocide in the United States. (The nonoxynols, technically speaking, are nonionic surfactant [surface active] mixtures that vary in the number of repeating ethoxy groups.) They are much used as detergents, emulsifiers, wetting and defoaming agents, etc. Nonoxynol-9 has […]