Sperm and semen are the two terms that are often used interchangeably, however the fact is that they are two different things. How exactly are they different?

Sperm is a microscopic male reproductive cell, invisible with naked eyes, having  an oval-shaped head and a long tail. The purpose of a sperm is to fertilise the female eggs. Unline sperm, semen is a mix of fluids which helps sperm make its way to the egg. In other words, sperm is a part of semen, however semen is not a part of sperm. While the job of a sperm is to fertilize the female egg, the job of semen is to make it easy for a sperm to move. For better understanding, one can think of semen and sperm as an airplane and passengers. An airplane gives an opportunity to the passengers to fly to their destination just like semen enables sperm to reach the egg. 

In addition to that, semen also provides nutrition to the sperm and helps it stay healthy. Did you know that a teaspoon of semen contains millions of sperm? 

Both, semen and sperm are extremely important when it comes to male fertility. Click here to learn about 6 major causes of male infertility.