{{Short description|Reproductive biofluid of male or hermaphroditic animals}} {{Distinguish|Sperm|Pre-ejaculate|text=Sperm or Pre-ejaculate}} {{Other uses}} {{Pp|small=yes}} {{Pp-move}} [[File:Spermatozoa-human-1000x.jpg|thumb|right|287px|Spermatozoa, in this case human, are a primary component of normal semen, and the agents of fertilization of female ova.]]
'''Semen''', also known as '''seminal fluid''', is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoa from the male gonads of animals. In humans and placental mammals, seminal fluid is ejaculated through the penis via the urethra. This fluid contains proteolytic and other enzymes as well as fructose, which together promote the survival of spermatozoa and provide a medium through which they can move (or "swim") from the vagina into the uterus and to the fallopian tubes, where they can fertilize the female ovum and form a zygote (diploid cell).
Semen is collected 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. {{TOC limit|4}}
==Physiology== ===Fertilization=== Depending on the species, spermatozoa can fertilize ova externally or internally. In external fertilization, the spermatozoa fertilize the ova directly, outside of the female's sexual organs. Female fish, for example, spawn ova into their aquatic environment, where they are fertilized by the semen of the male fish.
Internal fertilization occurs inside the female's sexual organs after a male inseminates a female through copulation. Most vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and monotreme mammals, are inseminated through the cloaca.<ref name="Lombardi2012">{{cite book|author=Julian Lombardi|title=Comparative Vertebrate Reproduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tXvjBwAAQBAJ&q=copulation|date=6 December 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4615-4937-6|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128132926/https://books.google.com/books?id=tXvjBwAAQBAJ&q=copulation|url-status=live}}</ref> Marsupials and placental mammals are inseminated through the vagina.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Armati |first1=Patricia J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x3S5v971Nk0C&dq=marsupial+semen&pg=PA86 |title=Marsupials |last2=Dickman |first2=Chris R. |last3=Hume |first3=Ian D. |date=2006-08-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-45742-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1086/407097|title = Patterns of Copulatory Behavior in Male Mammals|year = 1972|last1 = Dewsbury|first1 = Donald A.|journal = The Quarterly Review of Biology|volume = 47|issue = 1|pages = 1–33|pmid = 4553708|s2cid = 6745690|issn=0033-5770}}</ref> In macropods, semen coagulates and forms a mating plug in the vagina after copulation.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dawson |first=Terence J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KNxIlprcmTYC&dq=plug+semen+marsupial&pg=PA73 |title=Kangaroos: Biology of the Largest Marsupials |date=1995 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-8262-5 |language=en}}</ref>
===Human=== ====Composition==== During the process of ejaculation, sperm passes through the ejaculatory ducts and mixes with fluids from the seminal vesicles, the prostate, and the bulbourethral glands to form the semen. The seminal vesicles produce a yellowish viscous fluid rich in fructose and other substances that makes up about 70% of human semen.<ref name=Mann1954>{{Cite book |author=Mann, T |year=1954 |title=The Biochemistry of Semen |publisher=London: Methuen & Co; New York: John Wiley & Sons |url= https://archive.org/stream/biochemistryofse00mann#page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=November 9, 2013}}</ref> The prostatic secretion, influenced by dihydrotestosterone,{{citation needed|date=August 2025}} is a whitish (sometimes clear), thin fluid containing proteolytic enzymes, citric acid, acid phosphatase and lipids.<ref name=Mann1954/> The bulbourethral glands secrete a clear lubricant into the lumen of the urethra.<ref name=textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed>{{Cite book|title=Textbook of Medical Physiology |last=Guyton |first=Arthur C. |author-link=Arthur Guyton |year=1991|edition=8th|publisher=W.B. Saunders|location=Philadelphia|pages=890–891|isbn=0-7216-3994-1}}</ref>
Sertoli cells, which nurture and support developing spermatocytes, secrete a fluid into seminiferous tubules that helps transport sperm to the genital ducts. The ductuli efferentes possess cuboidal cells with microvilli and lysosomal 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, prostate glands, and the bulbourethral glands, produce most of the seminal fluid.
Seminal plasma of humans contains a complex range of organic 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:
{| class="wikitable" |- | '''Gland(s)''' || '''Approximate fraction''' || '''Description''' |- | testes || 2–5% || Approximately 200 million to 500 million spermatozoa (also called ''sperm'' or ''spermatozoans''), produced in the testes, are released per ejaculation. If a man has undergone a vasectomy, he will have no sperm in the ejaculate. |- | seminal vesicles || 65–75% || Amino acids, citrate, enzymes, flavins, fructose (2–5 mg per mL semen,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/162812a0 |title=Relation between the Volume and Fructose Content of Human Semen |year=1948 |last1=Harvey |first1=Clare |journal=Nature |volume=162 |issue=4125 |page=812 |pmid=18121921|bibcode=1948Natur.162..812H |s2cid=4029810 }}</ref> the main energy source of sperm cells, which rely entirely on sugars from the seminal plasma for energy), phosphorylcholine, prostaglandins (involved in suppressing an immune response by the female against the foreign semen), proteins, vitamin C. |- | prostate || 25–30% || Acid phosphatase, citric acid, fibrinolysin, prostate specific antigen, proteolytic enzymes, zinc. (The zinc level is about {{val|135|40|u=μg/mL}} for healthy men.<ref name=CanaleEtal1986>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2605.1986.tb00909.x |title=Zinc in human semen |year=1986 |last1=Canale |first1=D. |last2=Bartelloni |first2=M. |last3=Negroni |first3=A. |last4=Meschini |first4=P. |last5=Izzo |first5=P. L. |last6=Bianchi |first6=B. |last7=Menchini-Fabris |first7=G. F. |journal=International Journal of Andrology |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=477–80 |pmid=3570537|doi-access=free }}</ref> Zinc serves to help to stabilize the DNA-containing chromatin in the sperm cells. A zinc deficiency may result in lowered fertility because of increased sperm fragility. Zinc deficiency can also adversely affect spermatogenesis.) |- | bulbourethral glands || < 1% || Galactose, mucus (serve to increase the mobility of sperm cells in the vagina and cervix by creating a less viscous channel for the sperm cells to swim through, and preventing their diffusion out of the semen. Contributes to the cohesive jelly-like texture of semen), pre-ejaculate, sialic acid. |} A 1992 World Health Organization report described normal human semen as having a volume of 2 mL or greater, pH of 7.2 to 8.0, sperm concentration of 20×10<sup>6</sup> spermatozoa/mL or more, sperm count of 40×10<sup>6</sup> spermatozoa per ejaculate or more, and motility of 50% or more with forward progression (categories a and b) of 25% or more with rapid progression (category a) within 60 minutes of ejaculation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=World Health Organization |title=Laboratory Manual for the Examination of Human Semen and Semen–Cervical Mucus Interaction, 4th edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBW1LBr-gpUC&q=Laboratory+Manual+for+the+Examination+of+Human+Semen+and+Semen%E2%80%93Cervical+Mucus+Interaction&pg=PP1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 |location=Cambridge, UK |page=60 |isbn=0-521-64599-9 |access-date=November 9, 2013 |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128140600/https://books.google.com/books?id=QBW1LBr-gpUC&q=Laboratory+Manual+for+the+Examination+of+Human+Semen+and+Semen%E2%80%93Cervical+Mucus+Interaction&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
A 2005 review of the literature found that the average reported physical and chemical properties of human semen were as follows:<ref name="Owen2005">{{cite journal |doi=10.2164/jandrol.04104 |title=A Review of the Physical and Chemical Properties of Human Semen and the Formulation of a Semen Simulant |year=2005 |last1=Owen |first1=D. H. |journal=Journal of Andrology |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=459–69 |pmid=15955884 |last2=Katz |first2=DF|doi-access=free }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:350px;" |- ! style="width:40%;"| Property ! style="width:30%;"| Per 100 mL ! style="width:30%;"| In average volume (3.4 mL) |- | Calcium (mg) || 27.6 || 0.938 |- | Chloride (mg) || 142 || 4.83 |- | Citrate (mg) || 528 || 18.0 |- | Fructose (mg) || 272 || 9.25 |- | Glucose (mg) || 102 || 3.47 |- | Lactic acid (mg) || 62 || 2.11 |- | Magnesium (mg) || 11 || 0.374 |- | Potassium (mg) || 109 || 3.71 |- | Protein (mg) || 5040 || 171 |- | Sodium (mg) || 300 || 10.2 |- | Urea (mg) || 45 || 1.53 |- | Zinc (mg) || 16.5 || 0.561 |- | Buffering capacity (β) | colspan="2" | 25 |- | Osmolarity (mOsm) | colspan="2" | 354 |- | pH | colspan="2" | 7.7 |- | Viscosity (cP) | colspan="2" | 3–7 |- | colspan="3" | {{small|Values for average volume have been calculated and rounded to three significant figures. All other values are those given in the review.}} |}
====Appearance and consistency==== [[File:Human semen in a petri dish.jpg|thumbnail|Human semen in a Petri dish]] Semen is typically translucent with white, grey or even yellowish tint, with a viscous consistency similar to that of egg whites. Blood in the semen can cause a pink or reddish colour, known as ''hematospermia'', and may indicate a medical problem which should be evaluated by a doctor if the symptom persists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.healthcentral.com/prostate/question-answer-27466-63.html|title=HealthCentral.com - Trusted, Reliable and Up To Date Health Information|access-date=30 December 2016|archive-date=17 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417212146/http://www.healthcentral.com/prostate/question-answer-27466-63.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
After ejaculation, the latter part of the ejaculated semen coagulates immediately,<ref name="Gallup, Gordon G; Burch, Rebecca L 2004">{{Cite journal |author1=Gallup, Gordon G |author2=Burch, Rebecca L |title=[Semen Displacement as a Sperm Competition Strategy in Humans] |journal=Evolutionary Psychology |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=12–23 |year=2004 |doi=10.1177/147470490400200105 |doi-access=free }}</ref> forming globules,<ref>{{cite web | last = Dean | first = Dr. John | title = Semen and sperm quality | url = http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealth/facts/semenandsperm.htm | access-date = December 7, 2006 | archive-date = November 10, 2000 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20001110112200/http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealth/facts/semenandsperm.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> while the earlier part of the ejaculate typically does not.<ref name="Baker, Robin R; Bellis, Mark A 1993">{{cite journal |doi=10.1006/anbe.1993.1271 |title=Human sperm competition: Ejaculate adjustment by males and the function of masturbation |year=1993 |last1=Baker |first1=R |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=46 |issue=5 |page=861|bibcode=1993AnBeh..46..861B |s2cid=53201940 }}</ref> After a period typically ranging from 15 to 30 minutes, prostate-specific antigen present in the semen causes the decoagulation of the seminal coagulum.<ref name="pmid12525533">{{cite journal |doi=10.1200/JCO.2003.02.083 |title=Biology of Prostate-Specific Antigen |year=2003 |last1=Balk |first1=S. P. |journal=Journal of Clinical Oncology |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=383–91 |pmid=12525533 |last2=Ko |first2=YJ |last3=Bubley |first3=GJ}}</ref> It is postulated that the initial clotting helps keep the semen in the vagina,<ref name="Gallup, Gordon G; Burch, Rebecca L 2004"/> while liquefaction frees the sperm to make their journey to the ova.<ref name="Gallup, Gordon G; Burch, Rebecca L 2004"/>
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).<ref name="Owen2005" />
===Quality=== {{Main|Semen quality}}Semen quality is a measure of the ability of semen to accomplish fertilization. Thus, it is a measure of fertility in a man. It is the sperm in the semen that is the fertile component, and therefore semen quality involves both sperm quantity and sperm quality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bonde |first1=J. P. |last2=Ernst |first2=E. |last3=Jensen |first3=T. K. |last4=Hjollund |first4=N. H. |last5=Kolstad |first5=H. |last6=Henriksen |first6=T. B. |last7=Scheike |first7=T. |last8=Giwercman |first8=A. |last9=Olsen |first9=J. |last10=Skakkebaek |first10=N. E. |date=1998-10-10 |title=Relation between semen quality and fertility: a population-based study of 430 first-pregnancy planners |journal=Lancet |volume=352 |issue=9135 |pages=1172–1177 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(97)10514-1 |issn=0140-6736 |pmid=9777833 |bibcode=1998Lanc..352.1172B |s2cid=24217414 }}</ref>
===Quantity=== The volume of semen ejaculate varies but is generally about 1 teaspoonful or less. A review of 30 studies concluded that the average was around 3.4 milliliters (mL), with some studies finding amounts as high as 5.0 mL or as low as 2.3 mL.<ref name="Owen2005" /> In a study with Swedish and Danish men, a prolonged interval between ejaculations caused an increase in the sperm count in the semen but not an increase in the semen volume.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/humrep/17.9.2468 |title=Higher sperm counts in Southern Sweden compared with Denmark |year=2002 |last1=Richthoff |first1=J. |journal=Human Reproduction |volume=17 |issue=9 |pages=2468–73 |pmid=12202443 |last2=Rylander |first2=L |last3=Hagmar |first3=L |last4=Malm |first4=J |last5=Giwercman |first5=A|doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Storage=== Semen can be stored in diluents such as the ''Illini Variable Temperature'' (IVT) diluent, which have been reported to be able to preserve high fertility of semen for over seven days.<ref name=Watson1993>{{cite journal |doi=10.1071/RD9930691 |title=The potential impact of sperm encapsulation technology on the importance of timing of artificial insemination: A perspective in the light of published work |year=1993 |last1=Watson |first1=PF |journal=Reproduction, Fertility and Development |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=691–9 |pmid=9627729}}</ref> The IVT diluent is composed of several salts, sugars and antibacterial agents and gassed with CO<sub>2</sub>.<ref name=Watson1993/>
Semen cryopreservation can be used for far longer storage durations. For human sperm, the longest reported successful storage with this method is 21 years.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Child born after 21 year semen storage using Planer controlled rate freezer |publisher=Planer |url=http://www.planer.com/company/news/older-news-stories/335-child-born-after-21-year-semen-storage-using-planer-controlled-rate-freezer-.html |access-date=August 23, 2013 |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303050335/https://www.planer.com/company/news/older-news-stories/335-child-born-after-21-year-semen-storage-using-planer-controlled-rate-freezer-.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Health==
===Infection transmission=== Semen can transmit many sexually transmitted infections and pathogens, including viruses like HIV<ref name="Aldo ">{{cite journal |author=Poiani, Aldo |date= July 2006 |title=Complexity of Seminal Fluid: A Review |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages= 295–296|jstor=25063816 |doi=10.1007/s00265-006-0178-0|bibcode= 2006BEcoS..60..289P |s2cid= 12955573 }}</ref> and Ebola.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Doctors-sweat-over-whether-Ebola-positive-man-spread-virus/articleshow/45210667.cms|title=Doctors sweat over whether Ebola positive man spread virus|work=The Times of India|date=20 November 2014 |access-date=30 December 2016|archive-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019043137/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Doctors-sweat-over-whether-Ebola-positive-man-spread-virus/articleshow/45210667.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Swallowing semen carries no additional risk other than those inherent in fellatio. This includes transmission risk for sexually transmitted infections such as human papillomavirus or herpes, especially for people with bleeding gums, gingivitis or open sores.<ref>Rosenthal, Sara. ''The Gynecological Sourcebook'', McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003, {{ISBN|0-07-140279-9}} p151</ref><ref name="Hales">{{Cite book|author=Dianne Hales|title=An Invitation to Health Brief 2010-2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2008|access-date=July 13, 2014|pages=269–271|isbn=978-0495391920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oP91HVIMPRIC&pg=PA269|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231143640/http://books.google.com/books?id=oP91HVIMPRIC&pg=PA269|url-status=live}}</ref> Viruses in semen survive for a long time once outside the body.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shanis |first1=B. S. |last2=Check |first2=J. H. |last3=Baker |first3=A. F. |date=1989 |title=Transmission of sexually transmitted diseases by donor semen |journal=Archives of Andrology |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=249–257 |doi=10.3109/01485018908986848 |issn=0148-5016 |pmid=2619413}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Salam |first1=Alex P. |last2=Horby |first2=Peter W. |date=2017-11-23 |title=The Breadth of Viruses in Human Semen |journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases |volume=23 |issue=11 |pages=1922–1924 |doi=10.3201/eid2311.171049 |pmc=5652425 |pmid=29048276 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-05 |title=STD Facts - STD Risk and Oral Sex |url=https://www.cdc.gov/std/healthcomm/stdfact-stdriskandoralsex.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820204127/https://www.cdc.gov/std/healthcomm/stdfact-stdriskandoralsex.htm |archive-date=2022-08-20 |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=Centers for Disease Control |language=en-us}}</ref>
===Bloodiness=== {{Main|Hematospermia}}
The presence of blood in semen or hematospermia may be undetectable (it can only be seen microscopically) or visible in the fluid. Its cause could be the result of inflammation, infection, blockage, or injury of the male reproductive tract or a problem within the urethra, testicles, epididymis or prostate. It usually clears up without treatment, or with antibiotics, but if persistent further semen analysis and other urogenital system tests might be needed to find out the cause.
===Allergy=== In rare circumstances, humans can develop an allergy to semen, called human seminal plasma sensitivity. It appears as a typical localized or systemic allergic response upon contact with seminal fluid. There is no one protein in semen responsible for the reaction. Symptoms can appear after first intercourse or after subsequent intercourse. A semen allergy can be distinguished from a latex allergy by determining if the symptoms disappear with use of a condom. Desensitization treatments are often very successful.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3810/pgm.2011.01.2253 |journal = Postgraduate Medicine |title = Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity: An Under-Recognized Women's Health Issue |first = Jonathan A. |last = Bernstein |date = 2011|volume = 123 |issue = 1 |pages = 120–125 |pmid = 21293092 |s2cid = 4243175 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title = Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity Reactions: An Updated Review |first1 = J. Wesley |last1 = Sublett |first2 = Jonathan A. |last2 = Bernstein |date = 2011 |journal = Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine |volume = 78 |issue = 5 |pages = 803–809 |doi = 10.1002/msj.20283|pmid = 21913207 }}</ref>
===Benefits to females=== Among numerous species in the animal kingdom, females may benefit from absorbing nutrients and proteins from seminal fluid for food, antiviral and antibacterial properties, and enhanced fertilisation. In humans, seminal fluid provides anti-viral activity towards herpes simplex virus and can transfer anti-microbial peptides cathelicidin and lactoferrin. In birds and mammals, mutualistic bacteria such as Lactobacillus have been detected in fluid transferral.<ref name="Aldo "/>
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.<ref name="Exposure">{{cite journal |last1=Abdulhaqq |first1=Shaheed A. |last2=Martinez |first2=Melween |last3=Kang |first3=Guobin |last4=Rodriguez |first4=Idia V. |last5=Nichols |first5=Stephanie M. |last6=Beaumont |first6=David |last7=Joseph |first7=Jocelin |last8=Azzoni |first8=Livio |last9=Yin |first9=Xiangfan |last10=Wise |first10=Megan |last11=Weiner |first11=David |last12=Liu |first12=Qin |last13=Foulkes |first13=Andrea |last14=Münch |first14=Jan |last15=Kirchhoff |first15=Frank |last16=Coutifaris |first16=Christos |last17=Tomaras |first17=Georgia D. |last18=Sariol |first18=Carlos |last19=Marx |first19=Preston A. |last20=Li |first20=Qingsheng |last21=Kraiselburd |first21=Edmundo N. |last22=Montaner |first22=Luis J. |title=Repeated semen exposure decreases cervicovaginal SIVmac251 infection in rhesus macaques |journal=Nature Communications |date=2019 |volume=10 |issue=3753 |article-number=3753 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-11814-5|pmid=31434895 |pmc=6704120 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.3753A }}</ref>
==Society and culture==
===Qigong===
Qigong and Chinese medicine place huge emphasis on a form of energy called 精 (pinyin: jīng, also a morpheme denoting "essence" or "spirit")<ref>[http://www.chikung.com/wp-content/files/chikungbible.pdf Qigong Bible, Chapter #8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109052505/http://www.chikung.com/wp-content/files/chikungbible.pdf |date=2013-11-09 }}, by Gary J. Clyman. Contribution To Clyman's Book by Frank Ranz, January 1989</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hunyuantaijiacademy.com/Articles/On%20Qigong.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930101010/http://www.hunyuantaijiacademy.com/Articles/On%20Qigong.aspx |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=Home |publisher=hunyuantaijiacademy.com |access-date=February 5, 2012 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> – which one attempts to develop and accumulate. "Jing" is sexual energy and is considered to dissipate with ejaculation, so masturbation is considered "energy suicide" amongst those who practice this art. According to Qigong theory, energy from many pathways/meridians becomes diverted and transfers itself to the sexual organs during sexual excitement. The ensuing orgasm and ejaculation will then finally expel the energy from the system completely. The Chinese proverb 一滴精，十滴血 (pinyin: yì dī jīng, shí dī xuè, literally: a drop of semen is equal to ten drops of blood) illustrates this point.
The scientific term for semen in Chinese is 精液 (pinyin: jīng yè, literally: fluid of essence/jing) and the term for sperm is 精子 (pinyin: jīng zǐ, literally: basic element of essence/jing), two modern terms with classical referents.
===Indian philosophy=== The Upanishads, principal scriptures of Hinduism, propound a creation theory wherein the supreme self transmutes itself to become the creation by exerting tremendous effort and strenuous labor (śrama), which is enabled on by tapas or "heat", considered as the most important element in the entire creation process.<ref name="Deuss">{{cite book |last1=Deussen |first1=Paul |title=The philosophy of the Upanishads |date=1966 |publisher=Dover Publications |isbn=0-486-21616-0 |pages=66, 185 |url=https://archive.org/details/philosophyofupan0000paul}}</ref> The word ''tapas'', in Sanskrit literature, is understood as a reference to the sexual heat or warmth that incubates the birth of life.<ref name="Olson2007p71">{{cite book|author=Carl Olson|title=The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVWKClYq4TUC&pg=PA71 |year=2007|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-4068-9 |pages=71–72, 59-61, 77-78 }}</ref> The root word ''tapas'' was commonly used for descriptions of sexual desire and love.<ref>C. Blair (1961), Heat in the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda, American Oriental Society Publication, no. 45, Harvard University Press, pages 101-103</ref> The word ''kama'' (desire) was homologized with ''tapas'' (heat) to explain the emotions and energy that leads to intercourse.<ref>W. D. Whitney (1950), Atharva Veda Samhita, 2 vols., Harvard University Press</ref><ref>A. L. Basham (1959), The Wonder That Was India, Grove Press, New York; pages 247-251</ref>
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."<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|126}} 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 emotions like anger and jealousy.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|126}} 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.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|126}}
Women, in general, are deemed as relatively 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 menstrual seclusion, and oiling-bathing of the menstruating women, apart from rituals.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|126}} In the Indian state of Kerala, a ritual conducted for virgin girls was ''talikettukalyanam'', in which 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.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|127}} 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.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|127}} 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.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|126}}
Men, too, overheat in absence of regular ejaculation and can become a danger.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|127}} In men, the semen heats up gradually and, if not ejaculated, should be channelled through the kundalini by means of demanding yogic practices.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|127}} Hindu men have an ascetic–erotic conundrum as they believe abstinence yields power, as well as in satisfying their desires as a necessity.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|115}} 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 incontinence follows with resultant guilt.<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|115}} 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 disarticulated, in a state of disease."<ref name="Osella"/>{{rp|117-118}} 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.{{rp|115}}<ref name="Osella">{{cite book |last1=Osella |first1=Caroline |last2=Osella |first2=Filippo |editor1-last=Manderson |editor1-first=Lenore |editor2-last=Liamputtong |editor2-first=Pranee |title=Coming of age in South and Southeast Asia: youth, courtship and sexuality |date=2002 |publisher=Curzon Press |isbn=0-7007-1400-6 |pages=113–131 |url=https://archive.org/details/comingofageinsou00pran |chapter=Contextualizing Sexuality: Young Men in Kerala, South India}}</ref>
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.<ref name="ayurveda"/> 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.<ref name="ayurveda"/> 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.<ref name="ayurveda">{{Cite web |url= https://www.ayurvedacollege.com/Ayurveda/shukra-dhatu-closer-look-reproductive-tissue-ayurvedic-perspective |title= Shukra Dhatu: A Closer Look at Reproductive Tissue from the Ayurvedic Perspective |publisher= California College of Ayurveda |date= 15 July 2013 |access-date= 13 January 2020 |archive-date= 13 January 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200113173807/https://www.ayurvedacollege.com/Ayurveda/shukra-dhatu-closer-look-reproductive-tissue-ayurvedic-perspective |url-status= live}}</ref>
===Greek philosophy=== In Ancient Greece, Aristotle remarked on the importance of semen: "For Aristotle, semen is the residue derived from nourishment, that is of blood, that has been highly concocted to the optimum temperature and substance. This can only be emitted by the male as only the male, by nature of his very being, has the requisite heat to concoct blood into semen."<ref>{{Cite book | last = Salmon | first = J.B. |author2=L. Foxhall | title = Thinking Men: Masculinity and its Self-Representation in the Classical Tradition | publisher = Routledge | year = 1998 | page = 158 }}</ref> According to Aristotle, there is a direct connection between food and semen: "Sperms are the excretion of our food, or to put it more clearly, as the most perfect component of our food."<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1192/bjp.184.3.200 |title=Culture-bound syndromes: The story of dhat syndrome |year=2004 |last1=Sumathipala |first1=A. |journal=The British Journal of Psychiatry |volume=184 |issue=3 |pages=200–9 |pmid=14990517|doi-access=free }}</ref>
The connection between food and physical growth, on the one hand, and semen, on the other, allows Aristotle to warn against "engag[ing] 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."<ref>{{Cite book | last = Aristotle | author-link = Aristotle | others = Richard Kraut (trans.) | title = Politics | publisher = Oxford UP | year = 1997 | page = 152 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TxCYKEtShewC&q=semen&pg=PA152 | isbn = 978-0-19-875114-4 | access-date = November 9, 2013 | archive-date = November 28, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211128132924/https://books.google.com/books?id=TxCYKEtShewC&q=semen&pg=PA152 | url-status = live }}</ref>
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."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Onians|first=R. B.|title=The Origins of European Thought|publisher=Cambridge|year=1951|page=203|isbn=0-405-04853-X}}</ref> This may be explained by the belief of the Pythagoreans that "semen is a drop of the brain [τὸ δε σπέρμα εἶναι σταγόνα ἐγκέφαλου]."<ref>[http://fxylib.znufe.edu.cn/wgfljd/%B9%C5%B5%E4%D0%DE%B4%C7%D1%A7/pw/diogenes/dlpythagoras.htm Diogenes Laertius, ''Life of Pythagoras'', 19.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406133611/http://fxylib.znufe.edu.cn/wgfljd/%EF%BF%BD%C5%B5%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD%DE%B4%EF%BF%BD%D1%A7/pw/diogenes/dlpythagoras.htm |date=2016-04-06 }} {{Cite book |first=Justin E. H. |last=Smith |year=2006 |title=The Problem of Animal Generation in Early Modern Philosophy |publisher=Concordia University |location=Montreal |page=5 |isbn=978-0-511-21763-0 |url=http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/philosophy/philosophy-science/problem-animal-generation-early-modern-philosophy |access-date=2015-10-24 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924003921/http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/philosophy/philosophy-science/problem-animal-generation-early-modern-philosophy |url-status=live }}</ref>
Greek Stoic philosophy conceived of the ''Logos spermatikos'' ("seminal word") as the principle of active reason that fecundated passive matter.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tripolitis|first=Antonia|year=2002|title=Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age|pages=37–38|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=0-8028-4913-X}}</ref> 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.<ref>"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. {{Cite book | author-link = G.R.S. Mead | last = Mead | first = G.R.S | title = Thrice Greatest Hermes: Studies in Hellenistic Theosophy and Gnosis | volume = I | location = London and Benares | publisher = The Theosophical Publishing Society | chapter = Philo of Alexandria and the Hellenistic Theology | year = 1906 | chapter-url = http://sacred-texts.com/gno/th1/th111.htm | page = 222 | isbn = 0-87728-947-6 | access-date = 2010-01-17 | archive-date = 2010-12-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101204182230/http://www.sacred-texts.com/gno/th1/th111.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>
The Christian Platonist Clement of Alexandria likened the Logos to physical blood<ref>"And that the blood is the Word, is testified by the blood of Abel, the righteous interceding with God." [http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02091.htm Clement of Alexandria, ''The Paedagogus,'' 1, 47.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920051704/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02091.htm |date=2010-09-20 }}</ref> as the "substance of the soul",<ref>Cf. {{bibleverse||Leviticus|17:14}}; Clement of Alexandria, ''The Paedagogus,'' 1, 39.</ref> and noted that some held "that the animal semen is substantially foam of its blood".<ref>Clement of Alexandria, ''The Paedagogus,'' 1, 48.</ref> Clement reflected an early Christian view that "the seed ought not be wasted nor scattered thoughtlessly nor sown in a way it cannot grow."<ref>Clement of Alexandria, ''The Paedagogus,'' 2, 91. See also: Onan.</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roach|first=Mary|title=Bonk: the curious coupling of science and sex|year=2009|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co|location=New York|isbn=9780393334791|page=214}}</ref>
In ancient Greek religion as a whole, semen is considered a form of miasma, and ritual purification was to be practised after its discharge.<ref>Parker, Robert. 1996. Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion. Oxford University Press.</ref>
===Reverence=== In some pre-industrial societies, semen and other body fluids were revered because they were believed to be magical. Blood is an example of such a fluid, but semen was also widely believed to be of supernatural origin and effect and was, as a result, considered holy or sacred. The ancient Sumerians believed that semen was "a divine substance, endowed on humanity by Enki", the god of water.<ref name="Leick2013">{{citation|last=Leick|first=Gwendolyn|title=Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-134-92074-7|location=New York City, New York|orig-year=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKoWblE4pd0C&pg=PA64|access-date=2018-01-03|archive-date=2021-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414055100/https://books.google.com/books?id=WKoWblE4pd0C&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|28}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Dening|first=Sarah|date=1996|chapter=Chapter 3: Sex in Ancient Civilizations|title=The Mythology of Sex|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mythologyofsexan0000deni|location=London, England|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-02-861207-2|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref> The semen of a god was believed to have magical generative powers.<ref name="Leick2013"/>{{rp|49}} In Sumerian mythology, when Enki's seed was planted in the ground, it caused the spontaneous growth of eight previously nonexistent plants.<ref name="Leick2013"/>{{rp|49}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobsen|first=Thorkild|date=1987|title=The Harps that Once--: Sumerian Poetry in Translation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-BI0h41yCEC&q=Uttu&pg=PA184|location=New Haven, Connecticut|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=0-300-07278-3|page=184|access-date=2020-10-28|archive-date=2021-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731144311/https://books.google.com/books?id=L-BI0h41yCEC&q=Uttu&pg=PA184|url-status=live}}</ref> Enki was believed to have created the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by masturbating and ejaculating into their empty riverbeds.<ref name="Leick2013"/>{{rp|32, 49}} The Sumerians believed that rain was the semen of the sky-god An,<ref name="NemetNajat1996">{{citation|last=Nemet-Nejat|first=Karen Rhea|author-link=Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat|date=1998|title=Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia|publisher=Greenwood|isbn=978-0313294976|page=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie00neme/page/182 182]|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinancie00neme/page/182}}</ref> which fell from the heavens to inseminate his consort, the earth-goddess Ki,<ref name="NemetNajat1996"/> causing her to give birth to all the plants of the earth.<ref name="NemetNajat1996"/>
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 satyrs.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Walker |first = Barbara |author-link = Barbara G. Walker (author) |title = The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects |url = https://archive.org/details/womansdictionary00walk/page/576 |format = Trade PB |access-date = February 23, 2007 |date = October 19, 1988 |publisher = HarperSanFrancisco |location = San Francisco |page = [https://archive.org/details/womansdictionary00walk/page/576 576] |isbn = 0-06-250923-3 |df = mdy-all }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bellows |first1=Laura J. |year=2003 |title=Personhood, procreative fluids, and power: re-thinking hierarchy in Bali |oclc=224223971}}{{page needed|date=August 2013}}</ref>
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.<ref>''Men in Love - Men's Sexual Fantasies: The Triumph of Love over Rage'' (1982) by Nancy Friday. {{ISBN|978-0-440-15903-2}}</ref>
===Espionage=== thumb|Semen stain on carpet observed with and without ultraviolet light
When the British Secret Intelligence Service discovered that semen made a good invisible ink, Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming noted of his agents that "Every man (is) his own stylo".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-spymaster-who-was-stranger-than-fiction-737707.html |title=''The Independent'' review of ''The Quest for C: Mansfield Cumming and the founding of the British Secret Service'' by Alan Judd |website=Independent.co.uk |date=28 October 1999 |access-date=2017-09-11 |archive-date=2019-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831124549/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-spymaster-who-was-stranger-than-fiction-737707.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Ingestion=== {{main|Ingestion of semen in humans}} Ingestion of semen offers nominal nutritional value, but has been recorded for social and interpersonal purposes, with some religious or cultural traditions, incorporating it as a practice. It is a common element of oral sex in sexual relationships, and is a common act in pornography, with a number of different kinds of practices depicted.
===Euphemisms=== A huge variety of euphemisms and dysphemisms have been invented to describe semen. For a list of terms, see ''sexual slang''.
Slang terms for semen include ''cum'', ''jism'' (also shortened to ''jizz''), ''spunk'' (primarily British English), ''spooge'', ''splooge'', ''load'', ''nut'', ''seed'', and ''love juice''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pointsincase.com/columns/nick-3-29-06-htm|title=Proper Use of Ejaculatory Slang: Male Finishing School, Part I|location=Points in Case|author=NG Hatfield|date=31 May 2008|access-date=1 December 2016|archive-date=2 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202101402/http://www.pointsincase.com/columns/nick-3-29-06-htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rafik |first=Amal |date=2013-03-26 |title=Passion Masters: Sex Secrets of a Forbidden Cult |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isZ1HAAACAAJ |location=Google Books |publisher=Blue Moon Books |isbn=978-1562012007 |access-date=2020-10-28 |archive-date=2022-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307215517/https://books.google.com/books?id=isZ1HAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The term ''cum'' can also refer to an orgasm (when used as a verb rather than as a noun). The term ''nut'' originally referred to a testicle, but can be used to refer to both semen and ejaculation.
==See also== {{Portal|Medicine|Human sexuality}} {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * Cum shot * Milt * Semen extender * Seminal fluid protein * Sperm donation * Spermadhesin * Spermatozoon * Vaginal lubrication {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Semen}} * {{Cite journal |last1=Grizard |first1=G |last2=Sion |first2=B |last3=Bauchart |first3=D |last4=Boucher |first4=D |date=31 March 2000 |title=Separation and quantification of cholesterol and major phospholipid classes in human semen by high-performance liquid chromatography and light-scattering detection |journal=Journal of Chromatography B: Biomedical Sciences and Applications |volume=740 |issue=1 |pages=101–7 |doi=10.1016/S0378-4347(00)00039-6 |pmid=10798299}} * [http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/1020079/ SUNY Podcast – Semen study results] * {{cite web |last=Hyena |first=Hank |date=August 21, 2000 |title=The quest for sweet semen |url=http://www.salon.com/2000/08/21/hyena_essay/ |work=Salon}}
{{Sex|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Semen Category:Body fluids Category:Men's health Category:Penis