Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2020 October 19

= October 19 =

If two men have anal sex and one man cums inside of the other man's anus, can this man's sperm get inside of the other man's prostate?
If two men have anal sex and one man cums inside of the other man's anus, can this man's sperm get inside of the other man's prostate--for instance, by forming microchannels/passages/a fistula that would allow it (as in, this man's sperm) to penetrate and enter the other man's prostate? Futurist110 (talk) 02:45, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Futurist110, do the little sperms have little drills or other devices with which to drill microchannels? Drmies (talk) 02:48, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Worst construction company ever? Double sharp (talk) 09:34, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Well, I don't think so, but at the same time, I do know that if the top part of the vas deferens is sealed shut (using electrocautery or whatever) during a vasectomy, then sperm can nevertheless manage to enter the top part of the vas deferens later on in spite of the top part of the vas deferens being shut if the bottom part if the vas deferens will regenerate and reattach itself to the top part of the vas deferens. You would think that sealing the top part of the vas deferens shut would, you know, prevent sperm from entering it even if the bottom part of the vas deferens did regenerate and recanalize, but apparently that's not actually the case in real life, since otherwise there would not have been any vasectomy failures at all--ever! Not even a single one! Futurist110 (talk) 04:18, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * "There's a vas deferens between men and women", as a doctor friend of mine is fond of saying. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  08:02, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * You should pick deferent friends. --Lambiam 09:20, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I defer to your wisdom. —Tamfang (talk) 02:11, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I don't think this is going to work as a defence in a paternity suit. --Lambiam 09:22, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I never said that it will. I just find it weird that sealing the vas deferens shut does not, in fact, actually permanently seal it shut. Futurist110 (talk) 18:51, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Who says it doesn't? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:05, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Vasectomy failures. Futurist110 (talk) 19:44, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * If the urologist does it right, it shouldn't fail. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:49, 20 October 2020 (UTC)


 * If any cell can enter a man's prostrate from his anus, he has a condition (stabbed with a bayonet?) that urgently needs medical attention. --Lambiam 09:26, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * And if it gets into his prostate, that's even worse. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:36, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * How so? Futurist110 (talk) 00:25, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Jack is pointing out that prostate ≠ prostrate. —Tamfang (talk) 02:12, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Though he is presumably prostrate while all this is happening. 212.159.12.93 (talk) 11:19, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * could be supine. -- Jayron 32 12:19, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Perhaps if the sexual activity happens an astonishingly short period of time after a prostate biopsy? EdChem (talk) 13:26, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Hey, don't they do always make a prostate biopsy this way? 2003:F5:6F03:6D00:D025:35D7:937:D52F (talk) 17:10, 21 October 2020 (UTC) Marco PB

Do influenza viruses cause the common cold?
The Common cold article says that a cold can be caused by influenza viruses. Other than the reference provided, I can't find any other source for that. I thought the flu is defined as the disease caused by the influenza virus. Is the article correct? And can a disease be both a cold and a flu? Cheesycow5 (talk) 23:00, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I suspect a big problem here is the sloppiness surrounding proper definition of the common cold. In common speech in my part of the world the words cold and flu are used interchangeably by many, so declaring what virus is behind a particular case is not easy. HiLo48 (talk) 23:16, 19 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Are you telling me that the flu is not just the deluxe version of the cold? ￣ω￣ Double sharp (talk) 00:12, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * You're conflating two things: words people use to describe how they feel, and infectious agents that cause diseases. The words "cold" and "flu" refer in common speech to two different vague sets of symptoms.  When a person self-diagnoses with one or the other, they frequently mean something like, in the case of a cold, an upper respiratory infection that usually results in things like stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, cough, and sore throat.  A flu tends to mean something which causes a high fever, lethargy, body and head aches, etc.  While flus can have stuffy noses, and colds can have fevers, in general people be more likely to describe colds as "a thing which is mostly a stuffed up head" and a flu as "a thing which is feverish and achy".  That's also why people will use terms like stomach flu, which is feverish, achy, and shitty (in a literal term), but not caused by an influenza virus.  Note that this has NOTHING to do with the actual infectious agent causing the disease, merely the words people use to describe themselves and how they are feeling.  Cold-like symptoms (with a mild fever and more sever stuffy head) can be caused by influenza viruses.  It doesn't mean people, who have not been diagnosed properly by a medical test, would use the term "flu" for those symptoms if they haven't been diagnosed with influenza.  When you see the statistics in that page you linked that say that 10-15% of colds are caused by influenza viruses, what that means is that people who present symptoms they would describe as "having a cold" turn out to have been infected with an influenza virus.  -- Jayron 32 12:15, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Excellent answer. I'll only add that this situation is particularly murky because so many people self-diagnose themselves when the symptoms are relatively mild (though we may see that change this year with COVID as a viable option to worry about). That is, if you start sniffling and coughing, you typically don't bother to get a test done for what virus is in you. Even if you go to the doctor's, they're unlikely to bother testing you unless things are really dire and/or long-lasting. Colds and flues are typically self-limiting. Matt Deres (talk) 16:22, 21 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I'll just make the observation that when COVID came to Canada, at first we were told to watch out for "flu-like symptoms", but for exactly the reasons set out above, that meant that people had different ideas of what the phrase meant. Later we got more specific guidance. --174.89.48.182 (talk) 22:12, 21 October 2020 (UTC)