I am wondering how long sperm can survive in the testes after they are fully produced - assuming no release at all. I can find a lot of information on the net on how long sperm can survive outside the testes once released, but nothing on how long they can survive prior to release in the testes. Does anybody have some reliable links on this?
Tue, 02/10/2009 - 05:51
#1
Length of Sperm Survival in the Testes
It depends upon when the body absorbs them. This is one report I found. I cannot attest to its accuracy.
"Any sperm not ejaculated in about 60-75 days, or somewhere in that time frame will be reabsorbed by the body."
Doc is spot on. There have also been recent discoveries that as men age, the viability of the sperm declines faster. This is not a well researched or understood area in medicine.
Thanks guys - I assume that is 60-75 days after the sperm is produced rather than from the point of start of the sperm's production, right?
This line of questioning puzzles me. It is really quite irrelevant to anything but research. The process of spermatogenesis begins at puberty and continues into old age. Constantly. The male body is a sperm machine that never takes a break. It would be unusual that any individual sperm would hang around the body that long.
As the sperm dies, it is generally reabsorbed into the body. Any time we look at a sperm count under a microscope, there are dead sperm. They could have been dead in the testes and evacuated with the next ejaculation or they could have died in the rush of 400 million trying to get to the exit.
[QUOTE=Brandye;233926]This line of questioning puzzles me. It is really quite irrelevant to anything but research. [/quote]
Well, I am "new to sex" (according to the definition of not having had sex before - I guess that makes me pretty new to it ;) ) as the forum title suggests and I do not really expect to have sex any time soon (no girlfriend and all that...). As such, most of my questions about sexual matters are somewhat academic in nature - just for personal interest and curiosity. This question is indeed not relevant in practice (I suppose it could be relevant if some male contraceptive were developed that stops new sperm from being produced - there would still be a period of time during which the already produced lingered around - but that is not why I am asking), but that does not make it any less interesting and I appreciate that some people here are very knowledgable about the human reproductive system. :) I have tried finding the answer myself, but my attempts yielded nothing.
OK. Good for you.
We women are quite different. We are born with about 1000 undeveloped eggs - all we shall ever have. They begin to mature at the beginning of puberty and are released once each menstrual cycle over a period of about 35 years. Some of the early ones for release are not completely mature and some of the later ones are overly mature. That is one reason that there are more miscarriages and improperly developed babies among young teen and older mothers.
Well, thank you Brandye. :)
Actually the question is quite relevant if you have had a vasectomy like I had recently. I have to wait 3 months to be tested to see if it worked because the sperm can live that long in the testes.
Well, no, want_.
The vasectomy cuts the vas deferens between the testes and the prostate. Really, right above the testes. The testes will continue to produce sperm for a long time but they have no way of getting where they want to go.
Check with your doctor but the guidance is quite a bit shorter than three months. Sperm still living in vas and the prostate take a few shots to get removed but three months is excessive for a sexually active male.
Well I had it done last month and they want me tested in April. I am just going by what my dr told me.