Final answer:
An average ejaculate contains about 3-5 ml of semen with 100-300 million spermatozoa. Semen, which includes sperm and fluids from accessory glands, carries numerous sperm as only one is necessary for fertilizing an egg. Semen extenders can increase semen volume and maintain sperm viability during storage or artificial insemination.
Step-by-step explanation:
The average ejaculate contains about 3-5 ml of semen, which includes roughly 100-300 million spermatozoa. Semen is the fluid that is ejaculated during sexual intercourse and is a combination of sperm and fluids from various accessory glands.
It is essential to note that only one sperm is needed to fertilize an egg, but during ejaculation, semen is released with a significantly higher number of sperm to increase the chances of successful fertilization. Semen extenders are sometimes used to dilute semen, maintaining the vitality of the spermatozoa and increasing the volume for storage or artificial insemination purposes.
These extenders can be categorized into three broad classes. The typical measurement of semen volume per ejaculate is less than a teaspoonful, which primarily consists of glandular secretions. For intrauterine insemination, 10-20 million live spermatozoa per milliliter are deemed sufficient for fertilization.
The structure of sperm is designed for their primary function: reproduction. Sperm are haploid cells consisting of a flagellum for motility, a neck housing mitochondria for energy, and a head that carries the genetic material necessary for fertilization. The top of the head has an acrosome with enzymes to penetrate and fertilize the egg.
When considering the sperm count necessary to fertilize an egg, despite the male body being capable of producing up to 85 million sperm per day per testicle, it only takes one sperm to successfully fertilize an egg. Even though millions of sperm are produced daily, the concerted effort of hundreds of millions released during sexual intercourse ensures at least one succeeds in the task of fertilization.