Facilitative and inhibitory influences of reproductive behavior on sperm transport in rats.

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Abstract
The effects of rat''s copulatory behavior on sperm transport in the female''s reproductive tract were studied. Transcervical sperm transport in rats requires 6-10 min after ejaculation for completion. Transcervical transport of large numbers of sperm requires that the vaginal plug remain lodged tightly in the vaginal-cervical junction. Maintenance of an immobile posture by the male, and possibly by the female, at ejaculation facilitates the deposition of a tightly lodged vaginal plug and the transport of large numbers of sperm through the cervix. A single intromission occurring within 2 min after ejaculation disrupts sperm transport, but more copulatory stimulation is required to disrupt sperm transport when delivered between 4 and 10 min after ejaculation. The average postejaculatory interval is long enough to prevent a male from disrupting the transport of most of his own sperm from the preceding ejaculation.