With spermarche, a male adolescent reaches sexual maturity. The ejaculate does not contain actual sperm until spermarche. If there is a deficiency of testosterone, spermarche may be impaired or even absent.
What is spermarche?
Spermarche is when a male adolescent reaches sexual maturity. The ejaculate does not contain actual sperm until spermarche. At puberty, humans reach reproductive maturity. While the first period in females heralds sexual maturity, for male adolescents, sperm production gradually begins within the testes. The beginning of sperm production is called spermarche. This technical term is a loanword from Greek, where “archḗ” means something like “beginning”. Sexually prolific adolescents may well reach orgasm before spermarche, but secrete only a minor secretion without sperm before sexual maturity. The first true ejaculation is called ejacularche and may not occur until after the onset of spermarche. The sperm count in the ejaculatory secretion is still relatively low shortly after the onset of spermarche, but then increases bit by bit. The timing of spermarche and ejaculatory lactation cannot be undoubtedly estimated by mere observation and can only be determined by auxiliary means. If male adolescents have not experienced orgasm prior to spermarche and are not sexually active at the time of onset of sexual maturity, ejacularche takes place in the form of first-time pollution or polluarche. Pollution is ejaculation without waking consciousness, that is, an orgasm that occurs during sleep. Spermarche is now expected from an average age of 13 years.
Function and purpose
The male sex organs are fully developed immediately after birth, but continue to differentiate during puberty under sex hormonal influences. Blood testosterone levels increase and the testes reach full functionality. This full functionality includes the ability to produce sperm. Prior to spermarche, adolescent orgasm corresponds to a release of secretions. Only after spermarche is it an actual ejaculation in the sense of ejaculation. The first “real” ejaculation following spermarche indicates the sexual maturity of the adolescent. Thus, during puberty, the ejaculate of male adolescents changes and, after spermarche, consists of cellular components such as spermatozoa and epithelial cells of the seminiferous tubules, which move in liquid components such as seminal plasma. In the first ejaculates, only a few spermatozoa are present, which are usually of inferior quality and in many cases not yet capable of fertilization. In the period following spermarche, their number and also the quality of spermatozoa in the ejaculate increase bit by bit. The ability to conceive occurs. Quality in this context is mainly vitality and motility or agility. Only a fast and strong sperm reaches the female egg in time after the sexual act and can penetrate it. In sexually mature testicles lie stem spermatogonia, which become two types of spermatogonia. The so-called A spermatogonia originate directly from the stem spermatogonia and undergo mitotic division into two daughter cells, one of which continues to divide. Their daughter cells are so-called B spermatogonia and enter the phase of maturation. Cytoplasmic processes connect B spermatogonia into groups that go through the maturation stage together. As they mature, they migrate across the blood-testicular barrier toward the seminiferous tubules, where they are referred to as first-order spermatocytes. As such, they undergo a first maturation division in the sense of haploidization, which gives rise to two second-order spermatocytes. With the second maturation division in the sense of equation division (meiosis), two spermatids are formed. Thus, one primary spermatocyte becomes four spermatids, which become spermatozoa during spermiogenesis. The first step of spermiogenesis corresponds to nuclear condensation, which is accompanied by loss of cytoplasm and tail formation. In addition, the acrosome forms for penetration into the egg. For the beginning of all these processes, the increased testosterone secretion during puberty plays a role.In addition to the cellular components of the ejaculate, seminal plasma based on the secretions of accessory sex glands is formed during spermarch.
Diseases and disorders
Testosterone is the most relevant factor in spermarche and the development of male sexual maturity. The hormone originates from the intermediate Leydig cells. Diseases of these cells, such as tumors or inflammatory damage, can result in a testosterone deficiency. In extreme cases, such a deficiency can lead to the absence of sperm and thus also sexual maturity. Not only underproduction of testosterone in the cells, but also reduced receptivity to the hormone can lead to disorders of spermarche and sexual maturation. Testosterone receptors are cells that sensitively register the presence of testosterone and bind to the hormone to initiate the processes described. When these receptors are under-sensitive, disorders occur. Since the cells are controlled by nerve centers in the hypothalamus, sexual maturity may also fail to occur if the control centers in the hypothalamus are lesioned. Abnormal conditions in the higher-level control centers, such as prematurely stimulated testosterone production, can cause premature onset of puberty with sperm. However, premature onset of puberty and sexual maturity does not necessarily have to be associated with disease value. Genetic factors may also favor this association. The same applies to a delay in the processes. Physical causes of delayed puberty may also include removal of the thyroid gland.
