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A sperm is a cell, with half a set of DNA, with the task of creating a new organism together with an egg cell.

Sperm are formed through a process called spermatogenesis, involving several steps that allow a stem cell (spermatogonium) in the man's testicle to develop into a sperm. This process can be divided into five steps:

Spermatogonia division
Divides to develop a primary spermatocyte (a sperm cell). In this cell there are 46 chromosomes divided into 23 chromosome pairs, which together make up the entire genetic mass.

Meiosis I.
Meiosis is a division that means that only half of the genetic material comes with it. Normally, we talk about Mitosis, which is a cell division that tries to exactly copy the original cell. The new sperm cell resulting from this division now has only one of each chromosome in it (and is called a secondary spermatocyte).

Meiosis II
The secondary spermatocyte undergoes another meiosis, which again divides the genome in two. This time, entire chromosomes will no longer be intact, but a division of each chromosome will take place. The result is four haploid sperm cells.

Spermiogenesis
The sperm cell undergoes a number of changes such as developing a head, neck and tail, to later have the ability to swim and fertilize an egg.

Maturity phase
The immature sperm is transported to the epididymis where it will be matured and then stored until it is time for ejaculation.

Sperm concentration is the number of sperm in a given amount of semen. It is usually measured in millions of sperm per milliliter and is one of the parameters looked at when doing a sperm analysis

Sperm motility is the ability of sperm to swim forward. Motility is usually measured as a percentage of the total number of sperm in a semen sample. The more sperm in the sample that move forward, the higher the percentage.

• In sperm analysis, motility is often divided into two categories:
  Progressive motility - Sperm that have the ability to swim straight or in large circles
• Non-progressive motility - Sperm that move, but not straight or in large circles

Anything over 15 million sperm per milliliter is considered normal

Sperm morphology refers to the shape of the sperm. Morphology is usually measured as a percentage of the total number of sperm in a normal-appearing semen sample. A normal appearance involves an oval head, a "neck"/midsection and a tail

When looking at the seminal fluid to assess fertility, the following parameters are looked at:

• Sperm concentration

• Sperm motility

• Sperm morphology

• Total motile sperm count

• Semen volume

The number of sperm a man produces per day varies greatly. But on average it is millions per day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), men produce 20-150 million sperm a day. Important to remember is that 150 is not necessarily "better" than 20, as factors such as age, health, genetics and lifestyle come into play.

There are several ways that can potentially improve your sperm concentration, which are suggestions that come from what is known today can negatively affect sperm concentration. These are among others:

Avoid smoking

• Avoid large amounts of alcohol

• Exercise regularly

• Eat 500g of fruit and vegetables a day

• Reduce everyday stress

• Avoid exposure to toxins such as pesticides and heavy metals

• Treatment of any conditions that may affect sperm quality such as varicocele and hormonal disorders

• Optimize intake of vitamins and minerals

Sperm production can be negatively affected by several factors such as:

• Heredity

• Infections

• Environment

• Lifestyle

• Medical conditions such as varicocele and hormonal disorders