# Do sperm cells grow their tails? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sperm-cells-grow-their-tails/400523 "2007-04-17T20:56:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sperm-cells-grow-their-tails/400523/1 "2007-04-17T20:56:08Z")
Do various cells such as sperm cells and red blood cells alter their structure over their lifetimes or are there a lot of intermediary cells between how the started and the finished product? Sperm cells are formed from the meiosis of some diploid cell which I don’t know the name of. Following meiosis, does the cell grow a tail, or do the daugther cells slowly change over multiple cell divisions? Red blood cells start out as bone marrow cells. Does the nucleus get eaten? Thanks for your help, Rob ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sperm-cells-grow-their-tails/400523/2 "2007-04-18T13:21:38Z")
Maybe some biologists will be around today. Bump. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sperm-cells-grow-their-tails/400523/3 "2007-04-18T15:27:24Z")
> **[Erythropoiesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythropoiesis)** > > Erythropoiesis (from Greek 'erythro' meaning "red" and 'poiesis' "to make") is the process which produces red blood cells (erythrocytes), which is the development from erythropoietic stem cell to mature red blood cell. > It is stimulated by decreased O2 in circulation, which is detected by the kidneys, which then secrete the hormone erythropoietin. This hormone stimulates proliferation and differentiation of red cell precursors, which activates increased erythropoiesis in the hemopoietic tissues, ... > **[Spermatogenesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermatogenesis)** > > Spermatogenesis is the process by which haploid spermatozoa develop from germ cells in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. This process starts with the mitotic division of the stem cells located close to the basement membrane of the tubules. These cells are called spermatogonial stem cells. The mitotic division of these produces two types of cells. Type A cells replenish the stem cells, and type B cells differentiate into primary spermatocytes. The primary spermatocyte divides meiotically Sp... ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sperm-cells-grow-their-tails/400523/4 "2007-04-18T15:37:41Z")
[QUOTE=sweeteviljesus] Do various cells such as sperm cells and red blood cells alter their structure over their lifetimes or are there a lot of intermediary cells between how the started and the finished product? Sperm cells are formed from the meiosis of some diploid cell which I don’t know the name of. Following meiosis, does the cell grow a tail, or do the daugther cells slowly change over multiple cell divisions? Red blood cells start out as bone marrow cells. Does the nucleus get eaten? Thanks for your help, Rob [/QUOTE] [spermatogenesis](http://www.answers.com/topic/spermatogenesis) : “The spermatids become embedded in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells, and there undergo the distinctive changes which result in formation of spermatozoa. These morphological transformations include the conversion of the Golgi apparatus into the acrosome and progressive condensation of the chromatin in the nucleus. A centriole migrates to a position distal to the nucleus and begins organizing the axial filament which will form the motile tail of the sperm. Mitochondria may fuse to form a nebenkern as is the case for many vertebrates, or there may be less extensive fusion as in mammals. In all cases the resulting structures become located around the axial filament in the midpiece. The cytoplasm of the spermatid is reflected distally away from the nucleus during spermatid maturation; eventually, most of the cytoplasm is sloughed off and discarded.”