Does Circumcision Decrease the Fertility of Sperm in the Male?

Women's Koolaburra by UGG Faux-Fur Hood Puffer Jacket
You'll be cute and cozy all weekend long wearing this women's Koolaburra by UGG puffer coat.

Men's Godzilla Tee
Get monster-sized style with this men's Godzilla tee.

Is it possible that circumcision (removal of the foreskin) can cause a decrease in a man’s fertility over a man who has never been circumcised, all other factors being the same? Especially when one’s sperm comes from the testicles and not the penis. Is some degree of infertility connected to circumcision?

The research on circumcision on sperm quality and quantity has been under debate for some time. It appears that the medical community that profits from circumcision feels it won’t affect male fertility. Some in the medical community, researchers, and everyday people believe that it does. It appears that the verdict is split.

However, birth rates are much higher in countries where the men are predominantly uncircumcised. How is it possible that circumcision could affect fertility in the male?

The testicles hang outside of the body because sperm are very temperature sensitive. They have to be cooler than normal body temperature to survive. It is known that men have a higher quantity and quality of sperm in the colder months than in the warmer months. So men are most potent in the colder months. It is believed that in the hotter months, the sperm are damaged due to hot temperatures building up in a man’s underwear and, basically, cooking some of the sperm. This is why boxers are preferred over conventional underwear for sperm health. With tight underwear, the testicles are forced closer to the body. This damages the sperm from the elevated temperature of being up against the body.

So we understand that sperm are very temperature sensitive.

Now here’s where it gets interesting:

Circumcised men have a significantly higher resting temperature of their penises then men who are uncircumcised. Men who are uncircumcised have cooler penises than men who are circumcised. When either group becomes aroused, their penis temperatures rise to the same temperature.

There is no question that an uncircumcised man has a cooler penis than a circumcised man in the flaccid state. For some reason, removal of the foreskin is the reason for this. There seems to be some sort of temperature sensor in the foreskin that may control penile temperature. Removing the foreskin gets rid of this sensor.

It only takes a few temperature degrees of difference to damage sperm. As the penis is in close proximity to the testicles, it’s quite likely that a cooler penis would help keep the testicles cooler (Remember that men are more potent in the colder months of the year). Under these condition, if the testicles got too cold, they can always be retracted closer to the body.

But if the circumcised man has such a (relative) hot penis, what happens when this hot penis is bunched up in your underwear against your testicles? That’s correct… It will make the testicles hotter. So when the cremasteric muscles relax to allow the testicles to drop down as far as possible to get away from this heat… What happens? It doesn’t make any difference, as they are resting next to this “hot” penis.

Remember, it only takes a few degrees in temperature change to damage sperm.

The foreskin has many functions and this is one of them. Mother Nature gifted man with a foreskin for numerous reasons. One of those reasons keeps the penis cooler, there is no denying that. Could foreskin removal affect a man’s fertility? It certain seems feasible.

Now consider this: Circumcised and uncircumcised men have the same penis temperature on full erection, as we stated earlier in this article. So, clearly, there is a specific reason why a natural-uncircumcised penis remains at a cooler temperature during the flaccid state. When the penis is erect it is no longer in close proximity with the testicles, so penile temperature should not affect the testicular temperature at this phase (be the penis circumcised or uncircumcised).

Upon orgasm, the penis tends to retract more into the pelvis (at least with my experience). Due to the friction and increased blood flow that occurred during the sexual act, it makes sense that the penis will have an increase in temperature in a flaccid state post-sex than in a flaccid state previous to the sexual act. Could this retraction be another mechanism for the “heated” penis to steer clear of the testicles?

Perhaps one day we will have the knowledge to know how the foreskin is related to penile temperature.