What is the term for the clumping of spermatozoa in the ejaculate?

What is the term for the clumping of spermatozoa in the ejaculate?

• A. Agglutination
• B. Capacitation
• C. Acrosome reaction
• D. Motility

Answer: (B)

Clumping of spermatozoa in the ejaculate is called agglutination. This occurs when sperm adhere to one another, often due to antibodies or certain components in semen, which can reduce their ability to swim freely toward the egg. Capacitation, by contrast, happens after ejaculation within the female reproductive tract and prepares sperm to fertilize an egg by triggering biochemical and membrane changes that enable the acrosome reaction. The acrosome reaction is the release of enzymes from the sperm’s acrosome to penetrate the egg’s protective layer, and motility simply refers to the sperm’s ability to move. So, the clumping term is agglutination.

Clumping of spermatozoa in the ejaculate is called agglutination. This occurs when sperm adhere to one another, often due to antibodies or certain components in semen, which can reduce their ability to swim freely toward the egg.

Capacitation, by contrast, happens after ejaculation within the female reproductive tract and prepares sperm to fertilize an egg by triggering biochemical and membrane changes that enable the acrosome reaction. The acrosome reaction is the release of enzymes from the sperm’s acrosome to penetrate the egg’s protective layer, and motility simply refers to the sperm’s ability to move.

So, the clumping term is agglutination.