Post Date November, 16 2024
What is the normal semen of men? Men's semen can reflect their reproductive and sexual abilities. The different color, quantity and quantity of semen can also reflect various problems. Let's take a look at the normal semen of men!
Semen refers to the liquid ejected from the urethra by male animals or human males during ejaculation (usually in the state of orgasm). Normal semen is a viscous liquid mixture composed of sperm and seminal plasma. Sperm is produced by the testis, matured in the epididymis and exported through the spermatic duct. Seminal plasma is mainly the mixed fluid secreted by accessory glands such as prostate, seminal vesicle gland and bulbar gland of urethra, as well as a small amount of testicular fluid and epididymis fluid. At ordinary times, the components of sperm and seminal plasma are "in their respective positions". During the process of ejaculation, sperm and seminal plasma are mixed to form semen.
According to the standard of normal semen stipulated by the World Health Organization, judging whether semen is normal can be analyzed from the following aspects:
1. Semen volume: normal ≥ 2ml. If it is more than 7ml, it is too much, not only the sperm density is reduced, but also it is easy to flow out of the vagina, so that the total number of sperm is reduced, which is common in seminal vesiculitis; Less than 2ml is too little semen, but usually less than 1ml is too little. At this time, the contact area between the semen and the female genital tract is small, or because the viscosity is not conducive to the sperm entering the female cervix, resulting in infertility, which is common in severe paragonadal inflammation, low testosterone level, ejaculatory duct obstruction, retrograde ejaculation, etc.
2. Color: normally gray white or slightly yellow. Milky white or yellow-green color indicates inflammation of the genital tract or accessory gonads; Pink, red, and red blood cells seen under the microscope are bloody semen, which is common in inflammation of accessory gonads and posterior urethra, and occasionally in tuberculosis or tumor.
3. PH: The normal pH value of semen is 7 2~7 8. Less than 72 can be seen in ejaculatory duct obstruction or urine contamination; More than 78 cases were found in seminal vesicle inflammation or old specimens.
4. Liquefaction time: after normal semen is ejaculated, it becomes gelatinous under the action of seminal vesicle coagulase, and becomes liquid under the action of prostate liquefaction enzyme after 15-30 minutes, which is semen liquefaction. It is abnormal that semen does not liquefy 30 minutes after ejaculation.
5. Viscosity: contact the glass rod with the liquefied semen and gently lift it to form semen silk, which is normally less than 2 cm in length.
6. Sperm count: generally expressed by the number of sperm per milliliter of semen. Normal count ≥ 20 × 106/ml。 Below this value, there are too few sperm, which can be seen in spermatogenic dysfunction caused by various reasons, and can lead to low fertility or infertility due to the reduced chance of sperm entering the uterine cavity and fallopian tube. If sperm count is greater than 250 × 106/ml refers to excessive sperm, which can also lead to infertility due to the influence of its activity.
7. Sperm morphology: sperm with normal morphology ≥ 50%, otherwise it may cause infertility.
8. Activity: ≥ 50% of sperm move forward rapidly in a straight line.
9. Survival rate: usually refers to the examination within 1 hour after ejaculation, and the live sperm ≥ 50%. The common causes of decreased sperm motility and survival rate include inflammation of accessory gonads, varicocele, ciliary stagnation syndrome caused by chronic respiratory infection, anti-sperm antibody in semen or improper storage of samples.
10. White blood cells: white blood cells in normal semen<1 × 106/ml。 Increased white blood cells indicate infection of the genital tract or accessory gonads.
Semen examination
Semen examination is mainly used to evaluate male fertility. In a broad sense, semen examination includes routine semen analysis, tests and research tests selected by laboratory personnel under certain specific circumstances. Routine semen analysis (including sperm computer-aided analysis and sperm morphology analysis) is the basic item of semen examination. Although it cannot directly reflect the fertilization ability, it is the basis of pregnancy under physiological conditions and an important standard to judge whether sperm quality meets the standard. It has been widely used in clinical practice. Other auxiliary analysis of semen can further clarify the etiology.
The semen quality analysis results are mainly affected by the following factors:
1. The sample collection time should be at least 2 days and not more than 7 days. The number of days for each abstinence should be as constant as possible. The so-called abstinence refers to the cessation of sexual life and the absence of masturbation and dream emission. Abstinence time affects sperm density, but sperm vitality is not affected by the duration of abstinence.
2. Whether the sample collection is complete. During ejaculation, the front part is rich in sperm, and the back part is mainly composed of the secretion of seminal vesicle gland, so the loss of the front part of semen has a greater impact on semen analysis results than the loss of the second part. If there is any loss, this inspection will be invalid, and it should be collected again after 2~7 days of abstinence for re-testing.
3. Before collecting semen, smoking and alcohol should be prohibited, and drugs that may affect the function of spermatogenesis should be avoided.
4. It should be noted that sperm quality cannot be determined only by the result of one semen examination, and a conclusion cannot be made only by one indicator, and comprehensive analysis should be carried out. For those who pass the first semen examination, the quality of their semen can be considered normal, while those who fail the first examination must recheck their semen 1 to 2 times within 2 to 3 weeks, and then make a judgment based on the comprehensive analysis of several results.
The best time for sperm collection is to get up in the morning. Before sperm collection, wash your hands, pudenda, especially Ding Ding with warm water. Ejaculation can be caused by masturbation or electric massage ejaculation. Because the semen is discharged in a certain order, the first part comes from the prostate, epididymis and ampulla, accompanied by a large number of sperm, and the last part comes from the seminal vesicle, the whole semen should be collected, and no part should be omitted, especially the first part. Because it is easy to lose the first part of semen, it is impossible to collect semen by external ejaculation.
The container for semen should be clean, sterile and dry. The temperature of the container before semen collection should be the same as the room temperature; The bottle should not be too large, but the mouth of the bottle should not be too small, so as not to eject the semen out of the bottle; Labels shall also be affixed to record the name and sperm collection time. In cold weather, the semen sample should be kept warm and placed in a close underwear bag. It should not be tilted or inverted. It should be sent to the laboratory as soon as possible within 1 hour.
Methods of improving semen quality
1. Reduce factors damaging semen quality
This includes not wearing too tight pants, staying away from sauna, hot water sitz bath, sitting for a long time, avoiding heavy drinking, resolutely quitting smoking, controlling weight within the standard range, drinking less coffee, eating less fast food, etc.
2. Reasonable diet
From the perspective of nutrition, sufficient protein, vitamins and trace elements can promote sperm production, such as vitamin A, vitamin B and vitamin E, which can increase reproductive function. In addition, the deficiency of some trace elements such as zinc, manganese and selenium will also affect the fertility of men. Common foods that are good for semen quality include: animal viscera, zinc-containing foods (oysters are the foods with the highest zinc content, and other foods such as shellfish, shrimp, sea fish, beef, milk, chicken, chicken liver, egg yolk, dairy products, laver, kelp, peanuts, red beans, soybeans and bean products, cocoa, lotus seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, walnuts, litchi, chestnuts, melon seeds, almonds, celery, persimmons, potatoes, brown sugar) Arginine containing foods (eel, catfish, loach, sea cucumber, cuttlefish, octopus, silkworm pupa, wood pine fish, chicken, laver, frozen tofu, tofu skin, peas, peanuts, walnuts, soybeans, sesame, etc.), calcium rich foods (shrimp skin, salted eggs, milk, beans, egg yolk, kelp, sesame paste, etc.). In addition, eating more green vegetables can help improve the quality of sperm, because green vegetables contain vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, selenium and other ingredients conducive to sperm growth.
3. Pay attention to environmental factors
Pay attention to electromagnetic radiation protection: put your mobile phone in your jacket pocket; During daily operation of the computer, keep a distance of not less than 70 cm from the computer screen and not less than 120 cm from the back and both sides of the computer; Don't put your laptop on your lap. The newly-decorated house is better to stay for a period of time. Although it is now known as "green decoration", there may still be some radiation and volatile substances in the furniture and paint.
4. Psychological adjustment
We are now generally in a tense pace of life, and the huge pressure we face will also affect sperm quality. If the husband and wife are blaming each other for the family trifles, and both parties are in depression or worry all day long, it can directly affect the nervous system and endocrine function of the body, make the testicular spermatogenesis function disorder, and may lead to infertility. We must adjust and maintain a good attitude, do something that can relax ourselves, such as walking, bathing, playing games properly, and face all kinds of pressures and problems in a positive and scientific way and healthy life behavior.
5. Save labor, avoid staying up late and exercise moderately
The term "labor" here refers to overwork caused by various factors, including work, study, life and sports. Modern medical research shows that overwork can affect the process of sperm production and make sperm vitality low. Staying up late will also affect the secretion and quality of semen. Generally speaking, it is better to fall asleep at about 10 o'clock at night, so that the quality of sperm produced is better. The benefits of exercise are needless to say, but the intensity of exercise should be moderate. Intensive exercise, such as marathon and long-distance cycling, will increase the temperature of testicles and destroy the cool environment required for sperm growth.
