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Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoon which is secreted by the male (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphrodite . In humans and , seminal fluid is ejaculation through the penis and contains proteolytic and other enzymes as well as fructose, which promote the survival of spermatozoa and provide a medium through which they can move or "swim" from the vagina into the uterus to fertilization the female ovum and form a zygote.
semen collection from animals for artificial insemination or cryoconservation of genetic material. Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources is a practice that calls for the collection of semen in efforts for conservation of a particular breed.
Internal fertilization occurs inside the female's sexual organs after a male insemination a female through copulation. In most , including , , and monotreme mammals, copulation is achieved through the physical mating of the cloaca of the male and female. In marsupial and Placentalia, copulation occurs through the vagina. In Macropodidae, semen coagulates and forms a mating plug in the vagina after copulation.
, which nurture and support developing , secrete a fluid into seminiferous tubules that helps transport sperm to the genital ducts. The ductuli efferentes possess cuboidal cells with microvillus and lysosome granules that modify the ductal fluid by reabsorbing some fluid. Once the semen enters the ductus epididymis the principal cells, which contain pinocytotic vessels indicating fluid reabsorption, secrete glycerophosphocholine which most likely inhibits premature capacitation. The accessory genital ducts, the seminal vesicle, , and the bulbourethral glands, produce most of the seminal fluid.
Seminal plasma of humans contains a complex range of organic compound and inorganic constituents.
The seminal plasma provides a nutritive and protective medium for the spermatozoa during their journey through the female reproductive tract. The normal environment of the vagina is a hostile one (cf. sexual conflict) for sperm cells, as it is very acidic (from the native microflora producing lactic acid), viscous, and patrolled by immune cells. The components in the seminal plasma attempt to compensate for this hostile environment. Basic amines such as putrescine, spermine, spermidine and cadaverine are responsible for the smell and flavor of semen. These alkaline bases counteract and buffer the acidic environment of the vaginal canal, and protect DNA inside the sperm from acidic denaturation.
The components and contributions of semen are as follows:
A 2005 review of the literature found that the average reported physical and chemical properties of human semen were as follows:
| 0.938 | ||
| 4.83 | ||
| 18.0 | ||
| 9.25 | ||
| 3.47 | ||
| 2.11 | ||
| 0.374 | ||
| 3.71 | ||
| 171 | ||
| 10.2 | ||
| 1.53 | ||
| 0.561 | ||
| Buffer capacity (β) | 25 | |
| Osmolarity (mOsm) | 354 | |
| pH | 7.7 | |
| Viscosity (cP) | 3–7 | |
| Volume (mL) | 3.4 | |
After ejaculation, the latter part of the ejaculated semen Coagulation immediately, forming globules, while the earlier part of the ejaculate typically does not. After a period typically ranging from 15 to 30 minutes, prostate-specific antigen present in the semen causes the decoagulation of the seminal coagulum. It is postulated that the initial clotting helps keep the semen in the vagina, while Liquification frees the sperm to make their journey to the ova.
A 2005 review found that the average reported viscosity of human semen in the literature was 3–7 centipoises (cP), or, equivalently, millipascal-seconds (mPa·s).
Semen cryopreservation can be used for far longer storage durations. For human sperm, the longest reported successful storage with this method is 21 years.
A study on the effect of semen in male-to-female transmission of HIV, in both humans and non-human primates (rhesus macaques), noted that regular intravaginal exposure to a healthy male's semen modulates the microenvironment in the female reproductive tract (FRT), and, paradoxically, improves the resistance in females against acquiring HIV by activating their bodies anti-HIV mechanisms.
The scientific term for semen in Chinese is 精液 (pinyin: jīng yè, literally: fluid of essence/jing) and the term for spermatozoon is 精子 (pinyin: jīng zǐ, literally: basic element of essence/jing), two modern terms with classical referents.
The connection between bodily heat (tapas) and sexual desire (kama) is not just metaphorical but is found to be rooted in physiology, "All adolescent and fertile adults are hot." The internal bodily heat, apart from being present inherently in certain body types (thinness more heat), is generated by processes such as "menstruation, childbirth, consumption of hot food, sexual desire" and certain like anger and jealousy. While heat is regarded as necessary to sustain life, with complete coldness corresponding to death, excessive bodily heat is "undesirable and dangerous" as it causes the body to deteriorate by internal consumption. A state of "relative coolness" is considered ideal.
Women, in general, are deemed as relatively more hotter than men, partly due to menstruation and pregnancies, which result in higher concentrations of blood to the womb. Menstruation, in particular is considered as extremely heating, a process likened to "boiling over" and is sought to be alleviated by acts such as Menstruation hut, and oiling-bathing of the menstruating women, apart from rituals. In the Indian state of Kerala, a ritual conducted for virgin girls was Kettu Kalyanam, wherein the girls are wedded to a boy or a man in a mock-marriage and after consummating are separated without any claims on each other. In sexually matured females, menstruation and unfulfilled sexual desire is believed to boil over their blood, with the heat making them violent and maniacal unless they are regularly cooled down by man's semen, which, is considered to be an extremely cooling substance. Though excessive heat in a woman is synonymous with " shakti and latent fertility", it is potentially dangerous and must be restrained, lessened and transmuted. This is sought to be achieved by "binding", wherein women wear tight upper clothing, bangles and necklaces; and "sealing the body" in oil baths and herbal powders; and through regular sexual intercourse. A woman is said to be really cool only after childbirth and had breast-feed her baby.
Men, too, overheat in absence of regular ejaculation and can become a danger. In men, the semen heats up gradually and if not ejaculated, should be channelled through the kundalini by means of demanding yogic practices. Hindu men have an ascetic/erotic conundrum as they believe abstinence yields power, as well as in satisfying their desires as a necessity. Morris Carstairs, in a report on culture and personality study, stated that Indian men who are seemingly healthy are preoccupied with real or imagined Spermatorrhea, with the belief that semen is not easily formed and "it takes 40 days, and 40 drops of blood, to make one drop of semen". He observed that when sexual behaviours are restricted, sexual Akrasia follows with resultant guilt. In females, the corresponding fear of loss of sexual fluids is found in anxieties over vaginal discharge ( sravam), which is believed to be a cooling body lubricant but whose loss leaves them "overheated and Disarticulation, in a state of disease." Anxiety about loss of sexual fluids is caused from a misdiagnosis of sexual guilt, instead of correcting the psyche of a person the focus is shifted onto the substance (semen, sravam), resulting in subsequent pathologization.
In Ayurveda, the term generally used for both male semen and female egg cell is Shukra. People with healthy shukra appear stronger and confident, with eyes and skin that seem lustrous. Those who lack higher shukra appear exhausted and lackluster, while also struggling in creative endeavours. Drinking lots of Water and proper digestion of highly nourishing foods (milk, ghee, nuts) yield healthy shukra. Charaka states brahmacharya (abstinence), proper diet, and rest/sleep as the three pillars of life. Indulgence in sexual activity is healthy for stronger individuals, but in weaker people it weakens them further, and is sought to be alleviated by abstinence as it restores shukra, which is always produced as a result of the digestion of food one eats. Ayurveda makes no preference for a celibate or monastic lifestyle, nor does it stress on morality being a part of human sexuality. The health of an individual's shukra and their dharma decides the degree of their sexual activity; for a householder sexual expression is common, while it is not so for a renunciate monk.
The connection between food and physical growth, on the one hand, and semen, on the other, allows Aristotle to warn against "engaging in sexual activity at too early an age ... since this will affect the growth of their bodies. Nourishment that would otherwise make the body grow is diverted to the production of semen. Aristotle is saying that at this stage the body is still growing; it is best for sexual activity to begin when its growth is 'no longer abundant', for when the body is more or less at full height, the transformation of nourishment into semen does not drain the body of needed material."
Additionally, "Aristotle tells us that the region round the eyes was the region of the head most fruitful of seed ("most seedy" σπερματικώτατος), pointing to generally recognised effects upon the eyes of sexual indulgence and to practices which imply that seed comes from liquid in the region of the eyes."R. B. Onians (2025). 040504853X, Cambridge. 040504853X This may be explained by the belief of the Pythagoreanism that "semen is a drop of the brain τὸ." Diogenes Laertius, Life of Pythagoras, 19.
Greek Stoicism philosophy conceived of the Logos spermatikos ("seminal word") as the principle of active reason that fecundated passive matter.Antonia Tripolitis (2025). 080284913X, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 080284913X The Jewish philosopher Philo similarly spoke in sexual terms of the Logos as the masculine principle of reason that sowed seeds of virtue in the feminine soul."And when she (intelligence) lives as a comely wife with comely Reason (Logos), that is with virtuous Reason, this self-same Reason himself undertakes the care of her, sowing, like a husband, the most excellent concepts in her." Philo, De Spec. Leg., § 7.
The Christian Platonist Clement of Alexandria likened the Logos to physical blood"And that the blood is the Word, is testified by the blood of Abel, the righteous interceding with God." Clement of Alexandria, The Paedagogus, 1, 47. as the "substance of the soul",Cf. ; Clement of Alexandria, The Paedagogus, 1, 39. and noted that some held "that the animal semen is substantially foam of its blood".Clement of Alexandria, The Paedagogus, 1, 48. Clement reflected an early Christian view that "the seed ought not be wasted nor scattered thoughtlessly nor sown in a way it cannot grow."Clement of Alexandria, The Paedagogus, 2, 91. See also: Onan.
Women were believed to have their own version, which was stored in the womb and released during climax. Retention was believed to cause female hysteria.
In ancient Greek religion as a whole, semen is considered a form of miasma, and ritual purification was to be practised after its discharge.Parker, Robert. 1996. Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion. Oxford University Press.
The orchid's twin bulbs were thought to resemble the testicles, which is the etymology of the disease orchiditis. There was an ancient Roman belief that the flower sprang from the spilled semen of copulating .
In a number of mythologies around the world, semen is often considered analogous to breast milk. In the traditions of Bali, it is considered to be the returning or refunding of the milk of the mother in an alimentary metaphor. The wife feeds her husband who returns to her his semen, the milk of human kindness.
Nancy Friday's book, Men in Love – Men's Sexual Fantasies: The Triumph of Love over Rage (1982), suggests that swallowing semen is high on a man's intimacy scale. Men in Love - Men's Sexual Fantasies: The Triumph of Love over Rage (1982) by Nancy Friday.
In some cultures, semen is considered to have special properties associated with masculinity. Several tribes of Papua New Guinea, including the Sambia people and the Etoro people, believe that semen promotes sexual maturation among the younger men of their tribe. To them, semen possesses the manly nature of the tribal elders, and in order to pass down their authority and powers, younger men of their next generation must fellatio their elders and ingest their semen. Prepubescent and postpubescent males are required to engage in this practice.Robert T. Francoeur, Raymond J. Noonan (2004) The Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality p.819 This act may also be associated with the culturally active homosexuality throughout these and other tribes.
Semen ingestion has had central importance in some cultures around the world. In Baruya people culture, there is a secret ritual in which boys give fellatio to young males and drink their semen, to "re-engender themselves before marriage".
Slang terms for semen include cum, jism (also shortened to jizz), spunk (primarily British English), spooge and/or splooge, load, nut, seed, and love juice. The term cum can also refer to an orgasm (when used as a verb rather than as a noun), while load is derived from the phrase blowing a load, referring to an ejaculation. The term nut originally referred to a testicles, but can be used to refer to both semen and ejaculation.
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