What is the Difference Between Sperm and White Discharge

The key difference between sperm and white discharge is that sperm is the male reproductive cell or gamete produced by the testicles of the male reproductive system, while white discharge is a fluid made by the help of the prostate, Cowper’s gland, and seminal vesicles in testicles of the male reproductive system.

Male discharge is any substance other than urine that comes from the urethra (the narrow tube in the penis) in males. It flows out of the penis. Normal penile discharge contains pre-ejaculate and ejaculate. It occurs with sexual arousal and sexual activity. Therefore, sperm and white discharge are normal contents of male discharge.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Sperm  
3. What is White Discharge
4. Similarities – Sperm and White Discharge
5. Sperm vs White Discharge in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Sperm vs White Discharge

What is Sperm?

Sperm is the male reproductive cell or gamete produced by the testicles of the male reproductive system. A male reproductive system is specifically designed to produce, store, transport, and protect sperms. Male reproductive organs include testes, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate glands, and penis. Upon reaching puberty, sperm production starts in the testicles. Generally, a man will produce millions of sperm cells every day. Each sperm is about 0.002 inches or 0.05 mm long. There are tiny tubes called seminiferous tubules in the testicles. These tubules house germ cells and male sex hormone testosterone. In these tubules, germ cells turn into sperms after dividing and changing until they resemble tadpoles with heads and short tails. The tails push the sperms into a tube known as epididymis located behind the testes. For about five weeks, the sperms travel through and get developed in the epididymis. Once out of the epididymis, sperms move to the vas deferens.

When a man is aroused for sexual activity, sperms are mixed with seminal fluid, which is a whitish fluid produced by the seminal vesicles and prostate gland to form the semen. Moreover, in ejaculation, this semen containing up to 500 million sperms is pushed out of the penis through the urethra. It takes about 2.5 months to turn a germ cell into a mature sperm cell that is capable of fertilizing an egg.

What is White Discharge?

White discharge is a fluid made with the help of the prostate, Cowper’s gland, and seminal vesicles in testicles of the male reproductive system. Pre-ejaculate is a clear mucoid fluid that is made from Cowper’s glands. These glands normally sit alongside the urethra. Pre-ejaculate fluid is released from the tip of the penis during sexual arousal. Most men secrete anywhere from a few drops to up to a teaspoon amount of pre-ejaculate fluid during sexual arousal. The pre-ejaculate fluid helps lubrication of the penis in preparation for sex and cleaning acids from urine out of the penis.

Ejaculate fluid contains white, cloudy fluid. It comes out the tip of the penis when a man reaches orgasm. It contains sperms and fluids that are produced by the prostate, Cowper’s glands, and seminal vesicles. Moreover, about 1% of ejaculate is sperms. The rest of the 99% is made up of things like water, sugar, protein, and enzymes. These pre-ejaculate and ejaculate fluids are altogether known as white discharge.

What are the Similarities Between Sperm and White Discharge?

• Sperm and white discharge are normal contents of male discharge.
• Both are very important for reproduction function in males.
• They can be present in ejaculate fluid.
• They define fertility in men.

What is the Difference Between Sperm and White Discharge?

Sperm is the male reproductive cell or gamete produced by the testicles of the male reproductive system, while white discharge is a fluid made by the help of the prostate, Cowper’s gland, and seminal vesicles in the testicles of the male reproductive system. Thus, this is the key difference between sperm and white discharge. Furthermore, sperm is about 1% of ejaculate, while the rest of the 99% is white discharge.

The below infographic presents the differences between sperm and white discharge in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Sperm vs White Discharge

Sperm and white discharge are normal contents of male discharge. They are very important for male reproductive function. Sperm is the male reproductive cell or gamete produced by the testicles of the male reproductive system, while white discharge is a fluid made by the help of the prostate, Cowper’s gland, and seminal vesicles in testicles of the male reproductive system. So, this summarizes the difference between sperm and white discharge.

Reference:

1. Dunkin, Mary Anne. “Sperm: How Long Sperm Live, Sperm Count, and More.” WebMD.
2. Nunez, Kirsten. “White Discharge during Sex Causes and Whether Treatment Is Needed.” Healthline, Healthline Media.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Sperm Anatomy” By Christinelmiller – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Human semen in hands” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia