Title: sperm motility
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - sperm motility
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.10977
Status: current

Definition
Energy-dependent forward movement of the sperm, allowing it to reach and penetrate the egg.

Note
Decreased sperm motility is an indicator of reduced fertility.

Related Terms
- egg: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10640
- fertility: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10710
- sperm: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11243

Source
- PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 781 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10977/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10977/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10977/xml

Citation: Citation: 'sperm motility' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.10977
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-10T09:28:39+00:00