- Fertilization is the process where a single sperm unites with an egg to form a

new human life.

- During sexual intercourse, approximately 300 million sperm enter the vagina.
- Protective elements in the fluid surrounding sperm help many survive in the
acidic vaginal environment.
- Sperm must pass through the cervix, which opens during ovulation,
facilitated by thinned cervical mucus.
- Muscular uterine contractions aid sperm on their journey, although some are
destroyed by the woman's immune system.
- Half of the remaining sperm head for the empty fallopian tube, while the rest
swim toward the tube containing the egg.
- Tiny cilia in the fallopian tube push the egg toward the uterus, while sperm
must surge against this motion to reach the egg.
- Chemical changes in the reproductive tract make sperm hyperactive, aiding in
their journey to the egg.
- Only a few dozen sperm out of the original 300 million reach the egg, covered
with a layer of cells called the corona radiata.
- Sperm attach to specialized receptors on the egg's surface, releasing enzymes
to burrow into the zona pellucida.
- Inside the zona pellucida, the first sperm to make contact fertilizes the egg.
- After fusion with the egg cell membrane, the egg releases chemicals to prevent
other sperm from attaching.
- The male and female genetic material join together, forming a unique genetic
code—the zygote.
- The zygote is swept toward the uterus by cilia in the fallopian tube, where it
implants in the uterine lining to grow and mature for nine months until birth.