**Semen** (pronounced *SEE-men or* *SEE-mən*) is the fluid that comes out from the end of a man’s penis when he has an orgasm (the height of sexual excitement) and ejaculates. It is usually a white or yellowish, sticky substance made up of sperm (male cells for sexual reproduction) floating in a fluid called seminal plasma that has water and different chemicals in it. Normally, an ejaculation makes between 1.5 and 5 millilitres (up to one teaspoonful) of semen.

Many cultures around the world once thought or still think that semen has special or even magical qualities. Showing semen in forms of popular culture such as art and movies has for a long time been taboo, that is, not generally accepted by society. However, since the late 20th century, artists and moviemakers have done so more often.

 

The English word *semen* comes from the Latin word *sēmen*, which means “seed”. In fact, *seed* was an old-fashioned name for semen.The Latin word *sēmen* itself came from another Latin word, *serěre*, which means “to plant (a plant into the ground) or to sow (seeds in the earth)”. It was once thought that semen was like a seed that grew into a baby after being “planted” inside a woman’s body.

Another name for semen is *ejaculate*. Some slang words for semen are *cream*, *cum*, *jism*, *jizz*, jazz *load*, *spooge*, *spunk*, *nut*, or *wad*.

 

Semen is the fluid that comes out from the end of a man’s penis when he has an orgasm (the height of sexual excitement) and ejaculates. It is usually white, but may also be slightly grey or yellow. If there is blood in the semen, it can look pink or reddish. This is a condition called hematospermia, and may be because of some blockage, inflammation, infection or injury to some part of the male sex organs, such as the urethra, epididymis, prostate or testicles. A doctor should be seen if the pink or reddish colour does not go away after a few days.

Men ejaculate different amounts of semen. Normally, an ejaculation makes between 1.5 and 5 millilitres (up to one teaspoonful) of semen. More semen usually comes out if a man has not ejaculated for many days, or if he has been stimulated (made sexually excited) for a long time. Older men make less semen. If a man ejaculates an unusually small amount of semen, this is a medical condition called hypospermia.

After a man has ejaculated, semen first becomes slightly thick and sticky, and may feel a bit like jelly and clump together in globs. Scientists think that semen does this so that if the man has had sex with a woman and has ejaculated inside her vagina, the semen stays in her vagina for longer and does not leak out. Between five and 40 minutes after this, semen becomes more liquid and watery. This probably allows the sperm in the semen to move through the vagina and into the woman’s uterus and Fallopian tubes to try and fertilize an ovum (egg cell). If semen is ejaculated outside the body, after becoming watery it eventually dries up.

  Semen is made up of sperm (male cells for sexual reproduction) floating in a fluid called seminal plasma. Sperm, also called spermatozoa, are made by a man’s testicles and mature (grow up) in the epididymis. The fluids in seminal plasma come from different glands in the man’s body: the seminal vesicles, prostate and bulbourethral glands (also called the Cowper’s glands). (Glands are special organs in the body that make chemicals.) The table below shows the substances that make up semen and the glands that produce them:

 

Seminal plasma protects and provides food for sperm as they travel inside a woman’s body. The inside of a woman’s vagina does not suit sperm cells as it is acidic. To protect the sperm from the acid, seminal plasma is alkaline. A woman’s immune system also tries to kill organisms (living things) that are not part of her body. Seminal plasma has chemicals called prostaglandins in it to stop the woman’s body from killing the sperm.

Semen that does not have any germs in it) is not harmful if it is swallowed, for example after a person has had oral sex with a man and the man ejaculates in that person’s mouth.

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