Can sperm survive outside the body? How long can it survive?

How long can sperm survive outside the body? Many friends are not very clear about the survival time of sperm outside the body. Generally speaking, the survival time of sperm in different external environments is different. The survival time of sperm outside the body is generally more than 4 to 8 hours in an environment of 37°C.

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's ability to fertilize only lasts 20 hours

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.

To sum up, although sperm injected into the female reproductive tract can survive for up to 4-5 days, its fertilization ability lasts only for 1-2 days. This means that conception is only possible if sexual intercourse occurs within 1-2 days before or after a woman's ovulation.