How many minutes does it take for sperm to liquefy?

Most sperm will liquefy within a few minutes after ejaculation, and at the latest no more than half an hour. If there is still no sign of liquefaction after half an hour, it means that your sperm has lost its original vitality, and may even cause a significant decrease in the survival rate. If not treated in time, it will affect your future fertility.

The liquefaction time should be less than 30 minutes. If it fails to liquefy or takes more than 1 hour, it will affect the motility and survival rate of sperm and lead to infertility [1].

⑴ Semen volume: Normal ≥ 2ml. When it is greater than 7ml, it is too much, not only the sperm density is reduced, but also it is easy to flow out of the vagina, resulting in a decrease in the total number of sperm, which is common in seminal vesiculitis; less than 2ml is too little semen, but usually less than 1ml is too little. At this time, the contact area between semen and the female reproductive tract is small, or the viscosity is not conducive to the sperm entering the female cervix, resulting in infertility, which is common in severe paragonitis, low testosterone levels, ejaculatory duct obstruction, retrograde ejaculation, etc.

⑵ Color: Normal color is off-white or slightly yellow. Milky white or yellow-green indicates inflammation of the reproductive tract or accessory glands; pink, red, or red blood cells under a microscope indicate bloody semen, which is commonly seen in inflammation of the accessory glands and posterior urethra, and occasionally in tuberculosis or tumors.

⑶ Acidity and alkalinity: The normal pH value of semen is 7.2-7.8. Less than 7.2 is seen in ejaculatory duct obstruction or urine contamination; greater than 7.8 is seen in seminal vesiculitis or old specimens.

⑷ Liquefaction time: After normal semen is ejaculated, it becomes jelly-like under the action of seminal vesicle coagulase, and becomes liquid under the action of prostatic liquefaction enzyme after 15 to 30 minutes. This is semen liquefaction. If semen still does not liquefy 30 minutes after ejaculation, it is abnormal.

⑸ Viscosity: When a glass rod is touched to the liquefied semen and gently lifted, a semen thread will be formed. Normally, its length is less than 2 cm.

⑹ Sperm count: Generally expressed as the number of sperm per milliliter of semen. Normal count ≥ 20×10?6/ml. If it is lower than this value, it means too few sperm, which is seen in spermatogenesis disorders caused by various reasons. It may cause low fertility or infertility due to the reduced chance of sperm entering the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes. If the sperm count is greater than 250×10?6/ml, it means too many sperm, which may also cause infertility due to its affected motility.