Difference between Semen And Sperm
Sperm, or spermatozoon, is a broadly used term for the diverse types of motile male gametes (sex or reproductive cells) found in all animals and lower plants. Each sperm contains the paternal genetic information to be contributed during fertilization. It also initiates egg development. Most sperm have a head with a nucleus but little cytoplasm, and a tail, or flagellum, used for locomotion. The cell, excluding the tail, may be only 50 to 60 μm, and a sperm may be only 1/195,000 the size of an egg but in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Each cell swims in an aqueous medium to reach an egg. Research on human reproduction indicates that the egg may chemically communicate with the sperm.
Semen, a viscid, whitish fluid produced in the human male reproductive tract. It is also known as seminal fluid. It consists of large numbers of spermatozoa, the male reproductive cells, or gametes, produced in the testes and suspended in the secretions of several accessory glands, including the seminal vesicles, Cowper’s gland, and the prostate gland. These secretions provide a favorable environment and nutrient material for the sperm. The fluid is usually neutral to slightly alkaline and serves as the vehicle in which sperm are maintained in the male reproductive tract and transferred, through sexual intercourse, to the female genital tract. It is usually released from the body by ejaculation.