Sperm
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Wayward Landscape (1946), Marcel Duchamp |
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The term sperm is derived from the Greek word (σπέρμα) sperma (meaning "seed") and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell. The human sperm cell is haploid, so that its 23 chromosomes can join the 23 chromosomes of the female egg to form a diploid cell. A uniflagellar sperm cell that is motile is referred to as a spermatozoon, whereas a non-motile sperm cell is referred to as a spermatium. Sperm cells cannot divide and have a limited life span, but after fusion with egg cells during fertilization, a new organism begins developing, starting as a totipotent zygote.
See also
- Ejaculation
- Female sperm
- Female sperm storage
- Polyspermy
- Semen
- Sperm competition
- Sperm donation
- Spermatogenesis
- Spermatozoon
See also
