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Sperm Motility: Patterns and Regulation

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Book cover Introduction to Mammalian Reproduction

Abstract

Spermatozoa are the only cells destined to be exported from the body. Thus, motility is an essential property of fertile spermatozoa. It enables ejaculated spermatozoa to traverse the female reproductive tract and reach the site of fertilization; it is also essential for penetration of the outer investments of the oocyte including the zona pellucida. This chapter will describe the following aspects of mammalian sperm motility: structure of the flagellum, development of motility in the epididymis, changes in sperm movement patterns following ejaculation and during fertilization, biochemical mechanisms regulating sperm kinetic activity, methods to quantitate sperm motility, and a brief outline of the methods available to alter sperm motility in vitro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Srinivasan Vijayaraghavan

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  1. Srinivasan Vijayaraghavan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Cell Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Daulat R. P. Tulsiani Ph.D.

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Vijayaraghavan, S. (2003). Sperm Motility: Patterns and Regulation. In: Tulsiani, D.R.P. (eds) Introduction to Mammalian Reproduction. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0273-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0273-9_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-4998-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0273-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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