Male reproductive health has always been a concern, but how many people really know the criteria for measuring sperm quality? What kind of sperm is considered good sperm?
Ten criteria for measuring the quality of male sperm.
1, semen color.
Normal semen is off-white or milky white, if it is abstinent for a long time, it can be pale yellow, if it is pink or red, mostly due to inflammation of the urethra, or tuberculosis or tumors.
2. Semen volume.
If less than 1.5ml, it will be regarded as less sperm, but if less than 1ml, the contact area between the semen and the female reproductive tract will be small, or it will be sticky and lead to infertility; if more than 7ml, it will lead to a decrease in sperm density and easy outflow from the vagina, resulting in a decrease in the number of sperm.
3. Sperm density.
In normal men, the number of sperm in each ml of semen should be above 20×10^6. If the sperm density is lower than this value, it is considered oligospermia and will affect fertility. However, if the sperm density is higher than 50×10^6/ml, it will also affect its mobility due to excessive sperm, which will lead to infertility.
4. Liquefaction time.
Normal semen is jelly-like when first ejaculated and can liquefy on its own after 30 minutes. If it is ” rice soup-like” after ejaculation, it is mostly seen in inflammation, and if it is delayed to liquefy, it is mostly seen in prostatitis, which can affect fertility.
5. Viscosity.
Touch the glass rod to the already liquefied semen and gently lift and hold it, semen filaments can be formed, and its length is less than 2 cm when normal.
6. The acidity of semen.
Normal semen is weakly alkaline, with a pH of 7.2~7.8. pH values that are too low or too high can affect sperm quality and are not conducive to conception.
7. Sperm morphology.
The normal form of sperm ≥ 50%, otherwise it can cause infertility.
8.White blood cells.
Normal semen has <1×10^6/m leukocytes, and increased leukocytes indicate the presence of infection in the reproductive tract or paraphilic gonads.
9, motility.
The motility of sperm is generally divided into four levels: inactive sperm, sperm moving in situ, sperm swimming slowly forward in a curve, sperm swimming in a straight line forward and sperm swimming rapidly in a straight line forward, of which sperm moving in a straight line forward should be ≥32% before the egg can be fertilized.
10. Survival rate.
The survival rate usually refers to the proportion of sperm with motility within one hour after ejaculation. Under normal circumstances, the survival rate of sperm should be above 50%. Common causes of reduced sperm motility and viability include inflammation of the paraphilic glands, varicose veins of the spermatic cord, cilia sluggishness syndrome caused by chronic respiratory infections, the presence of anti-sperm antibodies in semen or improper storage of specimens.