Question

Composition of semen is?
(a)Secretion of the testes, seminal vesicles
(b)Secretion of the testes
(c)Secretion of the prostate and Cowper’s gland
(d)All of the above

Answer 1

Hint Semen is a greyish-white bodily fluid that is secreted by the male reproductive organ and it consists of sperms and the required foods and enzymes by the sperms in order to survive and fertilize the egg by swimming through the female reproductive tract.

Complete Answer:
Semen is made up of sperms and secretions from the male accessory glands. There are 3 male accessory glands which include seminal vesicles, a prostate gland, and a paired bulbourethral gland. The secretion of the seminal vesicles is known as seminal fluid and it makes up to 60% of the semen. It contains fructose, amino acids, prostaglandins for the nourishment of the sperms. The secretion of the prostate gland is called prostatic juice which makes up to 30% of the semen and it neutralizes the acidity of the vagina. The bulbourethral gland secreted as thick clear protein for lubrication. All the secretions from these glands make up the seminal plasma. And seminal plasma along with the sperms makes up the semen.

Additional information:
Let us look at the structure of sperm in detail.
Sperm consists of a head, neck, a middle piece, and a tail and the entire cell is covered with a plasma membrane.
The head of the sperm contains the nucleus which is elongated in shape. The anterior portion of the head has a cap-like structure known as the acrosome.
The acrosome contains the various enzymes required by the sperm in order to fertilize the ovum.
The middle piece consists of numerous mitochondria which fulfill the high energy demand for the movement of the tail during sperm motility.
The tail moves vigorously in order for the sperm to swim through the female reproductive tract and reach the ovum in the fallopian tube.

So, the correct option is ‘All of the above’.

Note:
-The male accessory organs are maintained by the male hormone androgens.
-About 200-300 million sperms are ejaculated during normal coitus out of which 60% of sperms should have normal shape and size and 40% of them must show vigorous motility in order for fertilization to take place.
-Semen also consists of degenerated cells that sloughed off during its passage.