How long can sperm survive outside the body?

Men should know that sperm, the fluid ejaculated from the male body, is also alive. So how long can it survive after it is ejaculated from the body?

The survival time of sperm outside the body varies from person to person.

The survival time of sperm outside the body actually varies from person to person and is also related to the external environment. Sperm can survive in semen after ejaculation for about 24 hours. If the temperature is lowered, semen can also be stored for several weeks.

Sperm survival time in different environments

37℃ environment: 4 to 8 hours or more

Activity in the vagina: 0.5 days

Activities in the cervix: 2 to 8 days

Activity in the uterus and fallopian tubes: 2 to 2.5 days

If the temperature is lowered, sperm can survive for several weeks; if frozen with liquid nitrogen, sperm can survive longer and can even be stored for a long time.

Sperm's ability to fertilize only lasts 20 hours

When sperms rush up to the uterine cavity, their number is only 1%-5% of that during ejaculation.

Why is this?

Because the sperm remaining in the semen during ejaculation can be protected by a large amount of fructose and enzymes that break down sugar in the semen, when the sperm enters the uterine cavity, it leaves the semen and its living conditions are far worse than in the semen, so its lifespan is greatly shortened. Sperm of poor quality move slowly and cannot reach the uterine cavity quickly, thus losing its vitality.

After passing through so many checkpoints, only a few sperm can finally reach the fertilization site in the fallopian tube.

However, once the sperm enters the fallopian tube, it has a strong ability to fertilize.

Of course, in the end only 1-2 sperms are lucky enough to combine with the egg, and the rest of the sperms die within 24-36 hours.

Only the sperm stored in the crypts of the cervical mucosa can live for 2-6 days. Even so, its fertilization ability has been basically lost because the fertilization ability of sperm can only be maintained for about 20 hours.