The first known use of condoms in Europe was around 1564, as documented by anatomist Gabriele Fallopia, who gave his name to the Fallopian tubes.

In his book De Morbo Gallico, literally “The French Disease,” Fallopia describes sheaths made of linen, lubricated with spit, and secured with a ribbon. He claimed to have tested them on over 1,000 men to prove their efficacy against syphilis.

About 100 years later, King Charles II of England used a sheath made of lamb’s intestine to prevent any more illegitimate children.

Some men at the time used something similar made of a fish bladder, as it was finer. Often, butchers were tasked with fashioning these and then testing them to see how strong they were; butchers understood the high tensile strength of animals’ guts.

The man who designed the sheath for the king was Colonel Quondam, an English army doctor. Many people believe this is where the word ‘condom’ came from, although the word itself – often condum – first appeared in the diary of another doctor, Daniel Turner, who treated syphilis.

By the 18th century, the condom had a reputation as a reliable tool against the spread of disease and illegitimate children. The fertility rate in England experienced a decline at the time, though it wasn’t available to the masses until the 19th century, and then only thanks to American inventor Charles Goodyear – of the tyre – and the discovery of vulcanised rubber.

Using heat and sulphur – vulcanising – renders the rubber more malleable and much stronger. At last, condoms could be produced in bulk, and many more people could afford them.

In Wales, entrepreneurial greengrocer Tommy Horton began to make condoms from tyre rubber, Dunlop this time. The condoms were reusable and came in small, medium, and large sizes. They were sold through a network that included barber shops where customers would be asked, “Anything for the weekend, sir?” Nobody ever bought a small.

In the 1920s, latex was invented, a product of the rubber tree. Lots of people are allergic to it, but today synthetic latex is available. A flexible and strong material, it can stretch 800 per cent before breaking. That elasticity is what makes condoms safe.

More male contraceptives in the pipeline

Although the condom’s history is colourful and varied, it has been the only contraceptive form available to men – apart from abstinence from sex, non-vaginal ejaculation, or a vasectomy – usually seen as a permanent method.

Recent initial experiments on lab mice found the right dose of a particular drug – CDD-2807 – at the right time, made male mice infertile.

Researchers injected the male mice, who were housed with female mice, every day for three weeks; during that time, no litters were born. As soon as the injections were stopped, the mice began to breed again.

Martin Matzuk, a reproductive biologist, clinical pathologist, and director of the Centre for Drug Discovery at the Baylor College of Medicine in the US state of Texas, was lead author of the study.

He says the drug works by inhibiting the activity of an enzyme in sperm called serine/threonine kinase 33 (STK33). This makes the affected sperm move slowly and less efficiently through the female reproductive tract, preventing them from being able to fertilise eggs.

The mice did not appear to suffer any side effects; the drug did not accumulate in the brain, and as soon as it was stopped, the male mice were able to sire litters again.

Matzuk likes the use of CDD-2807 for a number of reasons, particularly because it easily enters the testes, and has no toxic side effects.

“Since 1960, there has been a birth control pill for women but not one for men. If men (or mice) are infertile due to a particular gene mutation, that would suggest that chemical inhibition of that same gene would induce a contraceptive effect,” he said.

With more than 1,000 genes expressed during sperm cell production, Matzuk adds, there could be many more options for male contraception.

Matzuk’s group is just one of many working on the science to develop a male contraception.

A review of ongoing research into male contraception from a team at the University of South Dakota in the US highlights some promising forms that are being tested on men.

One is a gel containing the male sex hormone testosterone and segesterone acetate (Nestorone), that aids in birth control.

After 12 weeks of applying the gel to their shoulders daily, 86 per cent of the men taking part showed a much lower sperm count, around one million sperm/ml of semen, which is deemed so low as to be effective contraception.

The review, published in Basic and Clinical Andrology in November, 2023, noted other clinical trials are testing the drug DMAU, for dimethandrolone undecanoate, in oral and injectable form.

Early results suggest it is well tolerated and shows promise as a male contraceptive.

“It is long overdue that male partners share the burden of family planning,” the researchers concluded.

“It is our hope that there will soon be several safe, effective, and reversible contraceptive options available to male patients.”