During ejaculation, millions of sperm are deposited into the female's vagina. Despite the extraordinary number of cells transferred from male to female, the chances of fertilization are very low. Explain why

What will be an ideal response?


Once sperm enter the female's reproductive tract, there are many physiological and anatomical obstacles that separate sperm from eggs. Among them, the acidic secretions of the vagina kill most sperm. As well, sperm cells swim randomly, so it is mostly by chance that any of the cells enter the vagina through the cervix, travel in the correct direction once in the vagina, and move into an oviduct that contains an egg at a time following ovulation. The journey is long, so sperm may deplete their energy reserves before reaching the egg, and even if they make it to the egg, the zona pellucida must be penetrated by enzymes in the acrosome. The life of a sperm cell is finite, and in most cases it does not survive long enough to achieve all of the tasks necessary to fertilize an egg.

Biology & Microbiology

You might also like to view...

What special feature of the ovum is facilitated by the production of polar bodies? 

A. large size of the cell B. extra layers of plasma membrane C. triploidy D. large size of the nucleus

Biology & Microbiology

In preparation for cell division, the chromosomes are replicated and compacted into_________.

Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).

Biology & Microbiology

All of the reactions of cellular respiration that occur after glycolysis take place in what part of the eukaryotic cell?  

A.  The chloroplast B.  The nucleus C.  The mitochondria D.  The plasma membrane E.  The cytoplasm

Biology & Microbiology

Immunoglobins associate with the adapter molecules Ig? and Ig?

Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

Biology & Microbiology