How can a man's "lifeline" survive for so long?

High-quality sperm produces high-quality offspring. The quality of a man’s sperm is very important. So how long can a man’s sperm survive?

Generally speaking, the life span of sperm in the female vagina will not exceed 8 hours. After each ejaculation, only a small number of the tens of millions of sperm can continue to move forward. The sperm that successfully enters the uterus and combines with the egg can form a fertilized egg and give birth to a new life. The sperm in the semen during male ejaculation can be protected by a large amount of fructose and enzymes that decompose sugar in the semen. When the sperm enters the uterine cavity, it leaves the semen. At this time, the living conditions are far worse than in the semen, so the life span of the sperm will also be shortened.

Sperm with poor quality and low motility move too slowly and cannot reach the uterine cavity quickly, so they easily lose their motility.

So, how long can sperm survive after entering the female body? After passing through many levels, there are only a few sperm that can finally reach the fertilization site in the fallopian tube. After entering the fallopian tube, the sperm has a strong fertilization ability. However, it does not mean that all sperm that enter can combine with the egg. In the end, only 1~2 sperm can combine with the egg, and the rest of the sperm will die within 24~26 hours.

For some sperm stored in the crypts of the cervical mucosa, their lifespan can reach about 2 to 6 days, but their fertilization ability is basically lost, because the fertilization ability of sperm can only be maintained for about 20 hours at most. Therefore, even if their lifespan can be longer, they have already lost the ability to fertilize.

How long does an egg survive? In normal women of childbearing age, one egg matures and is released from the ovary every month. After the egg is released from the follicle, it usually takes 8 to 10 minutes for the umbrella tip of the fallopian tube to suck it into the fallopian tube cavity and reach the connection point between the belly and the forth of the fallopian tube. At this time, the egg stays here, waiting for the arrival of sperm.

The survival time of an egg is much shorter than that of a sperm, about 12 to 24 hours. The egg has the strongest fertilization ability within 15 to 18 hours after it is released from the ovary, and can maintain its fertilization ability for about 30 hours, then it begins to degenerate, and its fertilization ability rapidly weakens and disappears. If the egg that enters the fallopian tube can meet the sperm within 24 hours, then the belly of the fallopian tube is where the egg is fertilized. If no sperm and egg combine during this period, the egg will lose its fertilization ability and die.

Therefore, if a woman has sexual intercourse 1 to 2 days before or after ovulation, the chance of pregnancy is the highest. Sperm injected into the female reproductive tract can survive for up to 4 to 5 days, and has a strong fertilization ability for 1 to 2 days.