ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -It takes just one sperm to fertilize a woman’s egg. Keep in mind, though, for each sperm that reaches the egg, there are millions that don’t. On average, each time men ejaculate they release nearly 100 million sperm.

Detailed explanation-2: -Occasionally, two sperm are known to fertilize a single egg; this ‘double fertilization’ is thought to happen in about 1% of human conceptions. An embryo created this way doesn’t usually survive, but a few cases are known to have made it-these children are chimaeras of cells with X and Y chromosomes.

Detailed explanation-3: -If one egg is fertilised by two sperm, it results in three sets of chromosomes, rather than the standard two-one from the mother and two from the father. And, according to researchers, three sets of chromosomes are “typically incompatible with life and embryos do not usually survive".

Detailed explanation-4: -The sperm that do not reach an “impasse” surround the mature egg and compete with the other sperm in trying to penetrate it. If a woman’s sexual and reproductive health are in good working condition, the first sperm to cross the finish line (enter the egg) succeeds in fertilizing it.

Detailed explanation-5: -Sperm is produced in the testes, where it takes approximately 10 weeks for a single sperm to reach maturity. Every day, a healthy adult male can produce around 70 to 150 million sperm.