{"id":9366,"date":"2022-03-25T18:49:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T22:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/?post_type=glossary&#038;p=9366"},"modified":"2023-05-05T12:02:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T12:02:54","slug":"semen-volume","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/fertility-glossary\/semen-volume\/","title":{"rendered":"Semen volume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Semen volume is defined as the amount of semen, the fluid that contains sperm, produced during one ejaculation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), semen volume can range anywhere between 0.8 milliliters to 7.6 milliliters. The average is 1\u20135 milliliters. Semen volume affects sperm concentration, and volume that&#8217;s abnormally low may affect fertility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is semen volume?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Semen volume is the amount of semen ejaculated from the penis. A normal semen volume ranges from <a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/ency\/article\/003627.htm\">1.5 to 5 milliliters<\/a>, or between \u00bc and 1 teaspoon, per ejaculation. The fluids that make up the semen volume come from several sexual glands and organs, namely the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/seminal-vesicles\/\">seminal vesicles<\/a>, prostate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/testicles\/\">testicles<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/epididymis\/\">epididymis<\/a>, and bulbourethral glands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Semen volume and male fertility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sufficient semen volume is necessary to carry sperm and enable it to fertilize an egg. As a result, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/semen\/\">semen<\/a> volume is one of the factors examined in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/semen-analysis-sa\/\">semen analysis<\/a> to evaluate fertility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Decreased semen volume may indicate a number of medical condition, including:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/retrograde-ejaculation\/\">Retrograde ejaculation<\/a>, in which the semen flows back into the bladder instead of out of the urethra.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anejaculation or \u201cdry orgasm,\u201d where no semen is ejaculated at all. Potential causes include retrograde ejaculation, spinal cord damage, or nerve damage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hypogonadism, which results in low <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/testosterone\/\">testosterone<\/a> levels that can cause reduced secretions from sexual organs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ejaculatory duct obstruction, meaning something that\u2019s blocking the tubes that transport semen in the testes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Missing the seminal vesicles, a congenital condition.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Testing semen volume<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Semen is typically collected through masturbation into a sterile container. It\u2019s recommended that you practice abstinence for<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2792416\/\"> 2 to 5 days<\/a> before collecting a semen sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After collection, the semen volume may be determined either by weighing the sample and calculating the volume using a known density, or transferring the sample to a graduated cylinder to measure the volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Semen volume is used to calculate the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/sperm-concentration\/\"> sperm concentration<\/a> and total <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/sperm-count\/\">sperm count<\/a>. The sperm concentration refers to the number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/fertility-glossary\/sperm\/\">sperm<\/a> present per milliliter of semen. By multiplying this by the total semen volume, you can determine the total sperm count in a semen sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While semen volume is not a highly influential factor on its own, it may go hand-in-hand with low total sperm count, or may indicate a larger issue affecting fertility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"glossary","glossary-cat":[],"class_list":["post-9366","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/9366"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/9366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17242,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/9366\/revisions\/17242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossary-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fglossary-cat&post=9366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}