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Spermatogenesis refers to the development that occurs as a spermatogonia (very immature sperm cell) changes into a set of 4 different spermatids. This process takes roughly 74 days to complete. Spermiogenesis then refers to the development that occurs between the spermatid stage to the spermatozoa stage. This diagram illustrates changes that occur during spermiogenesis.
As a spermatid matures, it develops an acrosomal cap and a tail (axial filament). A spermatozoon (singular for spermatozoa) sperm cell has an acrosome (containing many of the lytic proteins that are required for digestion of the egg’s zona pellucida = outer shell) and a tail (which is required for motility, a quality obtained during storage within the epididymis overlying the testes).
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