What Happens to Unused Sperm in the Woman’s Body?
Sperm are male reproductive cells that travel to fertilize an egg.
The sperm’s journey starts from ejaculation. During this process, millions of sperm are released and make their journey into the female reproductive tract during intercourse.
Of the millions of sperm ejaculated, only a few have the potential to reach the egg, and ideally, you only need one to fertilize the egg.
But this leaves the question, what happens to the other sperms that failed to fertilize the egg and are still in the woman’s body?
What Happens to Unused Sperm in the Woman’s Body?
Let’s start from the beginning.
- Vaginal Environment: When sperm is deposited in the vagina, it must survive the acidic environment. Only then can it move on to the next phase; most don’t survive, so their journey ends there.
- Cervical Mucus: The sperm then encounters the cervical mucus in the cervix that may either help it on its journey or hinder it depending on the time in the menstrual cycle.
- Uterine Transit: The journey continues to the uterus and the fallopian tubes. Once again, the sperm has been depleted from the arduous journey.
- Fallopian Tubes: Fertilization occurs in the fallopian tubes from only one sperm that meets an egg.
The other sperm that fail to fertilize an egg can stay in the female reproductive tract for up to 5 days.
This is possible mainly due to sperm-friendly cervical mucus that keeps it alive. However, outside of ovulation, the cervical mucus becomes less hospitable, significantly reducing sperm lifespan.
Afterwards, the white blood cells in the female reproductive tract identify and engulf unused sperm, breaking them down and disposing of them as waste in a process known as Phagocytosis.
Furthermore, enzymes within the female reproductive system help to break down and digest unused sperm cells. The sperm may disintegrate and be washed out of the female tract through vaginal discharge in due time.
Overall, the body has efficient mechanisms to handle unused sperm, ensuring that they are naturally eliminated without causing harm or disruption to the female reproductive system.
However, Sperm live outside the body for different lengths of time, depending on the environment in which they were released.
Unless they are deposited into a female reproductive tract, sperm cells are easily damaged and can only survive a few seconds to a few minutes outside the body.
