Men who experience semen leakage in their urine can often ignore it since a certain amount of sperm is always present in the fluid. However, some people experience it more frequently than others.
Sperm is a male reproductive cell first described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1677. They are produced in the testicles and stored in the epididymis.
The Urinary Bladder
The urinary bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that sits in the pelvis and is shaped like a balloon. It holds urine until you are ready to empty it (pee). The bladder communicates with the kidneys through a tube called the ureters. When the bladder is full, nerves send signals to your brain that you need to pee. Urine exits the body through a tube called the urethra, which runs from the opening of your bladder to your penis (in men) or in front of the vagina in women.
The urethra is also the conduit through which semen passes. Semen contains a fluid called pre-cum, which acts as a lubricant and neutralizes acid. It is released during orgasm and may contain sperm. Semen is normally not found in urine, but there are a few circumstances in which it can be present. Semen can leak from the penis while you are sleeping, urinating or having sexual intercourse. It can also leak from tight-fitting clothing that entangles near the urethra.
Sperm is produced in the testicles, or epididymis, which are located below the opening of your penis. The opening is guarded by the involuntary muscle known as a sphincter, which is relaxed when you are sexually active and not performing a urination. Semen can flow by gravity through this small opening, or it can be pumped out using muscles in the scrotum.
The Sphincter Muscles
The muscles that occupy the walls of the stomach and intestines are called sphincters. They are circular muscles that normally maintain constriction of a natural body passage or orifice and relax when necessary. There are over 40 different sphincters in the human body, including four distinct smooth muscle sphincters of the gastrointestinal tract. In the pyloric sphincter, muscular activity generates a phasic contraction, which raises intraluminal pressure and reduces or blocks the movement of food into the stomach.
In the ninth week of fetal development, undifferentiated mesenchyme forms the internal and external urethral sphincters. In addition, the uterus contains undifferentiated mesenchyme in its cervix that develops into the pylorus during the 12th week of fetal development.
The pyloric sphincter is composed of inner circular and outer longitudinal muscle layers. Routine dissections of cadavers reveal that some longitudinal bundles of the pyloric sphincter outer layer enter the inner circle and connect with its circular muscle bundles. This arrangement is not well described, and little has been published about the musculoskeletal anatomy of this structure. We analyzed the muscular arrangement of the pyloric sphincter in 80 embalmed adult cadavers using microdissection, histology, and micro-CT. In all of these specimens, loose muscular tissue from the innermost side of the pylorus entered the aboral end of the sphincter and the duodenum and connected with its circular muscle bundles.
Retrograde Ejaculation
If you’ve recently ejaculated and some semen remains in your urethra, it will come out with urine. This is called retrograde ejaculation, and it can cause male infertility. It can also be caused by certain medications, surgery or conditions such as spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease.
Symptoms of retrograde ejaculation include little or no semen coming out during orgasm and cloudy urine after sexual activity. In some cases, the sperm is trapped in your bladder and does not reach your partner’s eggs for fertilization. If you have this condition, you should speak to a fertility specialist.
Doctors can diagnose retrograde ejaculation by collecting a sample of your semen during orgasm and a sample of your urine after orgasm. They will analyze these samples for the presence of fructose, which is a chemical found in semen. They will also examine your penis, testicles and rectum for signs of the condition.
If you have retrograde ejaculation, it doesn’t usually require treatment unless it affects your ability to conceive. You can often get rid of the problem by changing your medications or using other medical treatments, such as in vitro fertilization or intrauterine insemination. In some cases, you can also use a procedure called penile injections to increase muscle tone in the urinary bladder and restore normal ejaculation. The condition is more likely to occur in older men and can be a side effect of several medications, such as alpha blockers used for high blood pressure and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Semen Leakage
Men may sometimes experience semen leakage from the penis – a whitish fluid that contains sperms. This usually happens during sexual arousal and is a normal part of the process. However, it can also occur while men are sleeping or urinating. Sometimes sperm is present in urine, as the two fluids share a common passageway.
The urethra transports both urine and semen, but the parasympathetic nerve acts as a control to close this passageway and retain any ejaculate. If this nerve is weak, semen can escape prematurely and involuntarily. Less than 5-10% of ejaculate actually contains sperm, so leakage doesn’t affect fertility.
Once sperm leaves the penis, it enters a series of tubes that leads to the pelvic cavity. From there, it passes into the cervix and then up into the fallopian tubes. The sperms can then fertilize an egg, resulting in pregnancy.
Leakage from the penis can be a nuisance, but it is not usually cause for concern. Various factors can contribute to semen leakage, including excessive masturbation, retrograde ejaculation and problems with the prostate — an organ that sits behind the testes. If you’re worried about leaking semen, talk to your doctor. You might need treatment, such as a prostate biopsy. You might also need to reduce the amount of fluids you drink, use less caffeine and stop smoking.
