Our microscopist Kim Ulvberget recorded this video of healthy mature sperm cells for us to share with you guys! Notice how these little swimmers look like they are searching for something. On our last post, we discussed the ‘acrosome reaction’ in detail and how the ovum normally allows one of these sperm cells to penetrate through its plasma membrane in order to become fertilized; this is how babies are made in the microscopic world.
Sperm health is essential to male fertility and it plays a central role in a male’s ability to reproduce. According to the National Library of Medicine, one of the most important modifiable risk factors that can improve sperm health in men is smoking cessation – quitting cigarette smoking. Smoking has been shown to have a detrimental effect on various parameters of semen analysis. A cross-sectional analysis of 2,542 healthy men from 1987 to 2004 found that cigarette smokers had lower semen volumes, sperm counts and percentage of motile sperm compared to men who did not smoke. Further, it was suggested that the relationship between smoking and sperm concentration was dose-dependent. Indeed, men who smoked less than twenty cigarettes per day experienced a 19% reduction in sperm concentration compared with nonsmokers, even after controlling for age, recent fevers, and duration of abstinence as well as diseases in reproductive organs.
Soon, we will be concluding our semen series with a list of foods that have been proven to have a statistically significant relationship with better sperm quality! Stay tuned all!
Special Mention: We will be covering a new topic each week and would love to have a suggestion of topics from our entire family here on Instagram! Please comment below suggestions of any topics you would like for us to cover.
Written by Student Doctor: Navpreet Singh Badesha ©07/13/2017 All Rights Reserved.
Video Credit: Kim Ulvberget, follow her for more!
This research was published in the National Library of Medicine.
