Sperm transport to and survival in the human fallopian tube

Abstract

A review is given on sperm migration to and sperm survival within the human Fallopian tube. Sperm migration from the external os can be very fast. The survival time of spermatozoa in the oviduct has been demonstrated to be 85 h. Spermatozoa normally enter the abdominal cavity through the open fimbriated end. Laterally closed oviducts retain spermatozoa resulting in a larger number of spermatozoa than in the normal oviduct, where the number of sperm at the site of fertilization is very low. The morphology of spermatozoa reaching the ampulla of the oviduct is mostly normal, which seems to be based on the correlation between normal morphology and good motility. Spermatozoa within the abdominal cavity do not cause antibody formation of any importance for the fertility of the woman.