Chapter 27, Problem 1ILQ

Watch this video (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/vasectomy) to learn about vasectomy. As described in this video, a vasectomy is a procedure in which a small section of the ductus (vas) deferens is removed from the scrotum. This interrupts the path taken by sperm through the ductus deferens. If sperm do not exit through the vas, either because the man has had a vasectomy or has not ejaculated, in what region of the testis do they remain?

Summary Introduction

To review:

The location where sperms are found in a man who has undergone a vasectomy or has not ejaculated.

Introduction:

Sperms are stored in the epididymis in men who have undergone vasectomy till the time it degrades and is absorbed by the body.

Explanation of Solution

Men release sperms out of the body along with semen through the urethra. In a vasectomy, the vas deferens is cut and ligated or tied so as to block the path of the sperms reaching the urethra. The semen is still ejaculated but contains no sperms. The sperms produced by the testes are stored in epididymis before traveling down the vas deferens and finally exit through the urethra. Where the vas deferens is ligated the sperms collected above the knotted region of the vas and remain stored in the epididymis. Finally, they degenerate and are recycled with the nutritious components being reabsorbed by the body. This is the fate of the sperms that are not ejaculated or get collected in men who have undergone a vasectomy.

Conclusion

The body does not waste out anything unnecessarily. So the sperms that cannot find a way out of the body are collected in the epididymis and reabsorbed by the body.