How long are human sperm cells?

[JonnyBoy12]

Not sure if this is the right area for this, but need to know how long human sperms cells are. I have thought for many years that they were 8 microns in length, but recent Google searches have told me that they are 50 microns long. I know that them swimming is the equivalent of a human swimming at 40 miles per hour in treacle, but this 2 figures are very different.

Does anyone know the answer to this question?

[NazNomad]

... about 40 microns long.

[theprof]

I'm afraid there is no answer to your question as simple as it seems at first glance.

There is a huge variation in human sperm length. Personally, I've seen examples of healthy, motile sperm in a range from 36 um to 91 um and I have colleagues who have seen examples both smaller and larger. Factors such as tail insertion length result in some variation along with other factors such as an abnormally large head, a short tail and vice versa.

In addition, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has tried on numerous occasions to give a definitive range of sperm morphology for many years and have ended up frequently revising their opinion. The fact that WHO will commit themselves to offering nothing other than a range of measurements should allow you to see that anyone who claims that sperm are x, y or x um long is deceiving you.

Have a look at this link:

http://www.gfmer.ch/E.../Sperm_morphology.htm

While it's not the whole story, it does give a good general outline of the situation.

[DTCwordfan]

You would have to be 40 microns long and swim at 40mph to get up my ex's.....or sorry is that out.