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Capacitation is the process that makes sperm able to fertilize an egg.

A traveling sperm undergoes capacitation which takes approximately seven hours. If a sperm reaches the ovum before completing capitation it fails to fertilize the egg.

Some of the key processes involved in capacitation include:

  • The tail of the sperm which is composed of a long flagellum moves faster by rotating in a whiplike motion
  • 'Sperm head membrane' changes so that it can fuse with the ovum
  • The acrosomal enzyme are prepared to digest 'protective layers surrounding the egg' consequently allowing male DNA to enter egg.

 

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