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27.9%ANMag Issue 27 Global Awareness
Embryology
By Ali Sadeeq, Staff Writer
Kano, Nigeria – As everyone knows, whether literate or illiterate, reproduction (i.e. giving birth) is the foundation of species proliferation on this planet. Without it, life as we know it would have long ceased to exist. The whole process from conception to eventual birth is one of the greatest physical manifestations of the power of God. Every second, millions of individuals are born, and this prevalence coupled with ignorance of how the process actually happens, has made mankind fail to appreciate the wonder and artistry of this unique channel of God in sustaining creation on this planet.
Prior to the emergence of modern science, in fact until about 1750 AD everything about embryology was speculation. People assumed that a complete animal with all its organs in miniature existed in the womb, even though the Quran has explained in detail the whole process, but as science (the signature of God) was not developed, the verses were not fully understood.
Living beings reproduce in two ways, asexual reproduction which requires a single parent and sexual reproduction that requires two individuals to copulate. Many plant and animal species like worms, fungi, bacteria etc. reproduce asexually, that is when a single individual buds off or divides to produce two new offspring (as in ordinary cell division of mitosis). There are also hermaphrodites, individuals (like snails) that possess both the male and female sex organs combined in one organism. God says in surah Yasin:
Q36:36: "Glory to God, who created in pairs all things the earth produces and as well as their own kind (human) and other things of which they have no knowledge"
The divine logic created matter in pairs, to manifest God's power and unity as the only single indivisible being that creates all else. The sex cells in living matter always exist in males and females even if in an individual organism (like one celled organism and hermaphrodites). The majority of animals, including humans, reproduce sexually. After copulation, the ejaculated sperm of the male swims upwards from the vagina into the oviduct. In men it can contain up to 8.3 million spermatozoa, each capable of fertilizing an egg to produce a new individual. God said in surah Waqiah:
Q55:58-59: "Do you see? The (human seed) that you throw out. Is it you who created it. Or are we the creators?"
The spermatozoa are engineered by God in such a way that it is ideal for the task it is to perform. It is structured like a tadpole with a round elongated head followed by a long tail, suitable for propulsion in an aquatic environment. The head is armored with an encased chisel-like structure to enable it to penetrate the wall of the egg. Out of the millions of ejaculated spermatozoa, a keen competition ensues whereby only few are able to reach the target as many die along the way. Survivors cling to the egg and begin the arduous task of penetrating the egg's shell. Once the champion is able to gain entrance, the rest automatically surrender by disengaging from the egg. The champion will also shed off its tail, armory and casing to unite finally in this divinely arranged matrimony. God further says in surah Dahr:
Q72:3: "Verily we created man from a drop of mingled sperm"
God used the word "mingled" here to denote the nature of fertilization. When one spermatozoon, out of millions, penetrates the ovum and unites as one in a zygote, the two are literally mingled. The spermatozoon contains the chromosomes, which in man are 23 pairs (46 singles). These in turn contain the genes which are built by the genetic code that contain all the information that guide the development of the embryo, making it into a member of a given specie. Therefore dog sperm (that contain 38 chromosomes) can never fertilize a human egg and vice-versa. In surah Muminun God says:
Q23:13: "Then we place him as (a drop of sperm) in a place of rest firmly fixed"
The fertilized ovum (the zygote) will then move up the uterine wall, and blood vessels will cover it as it immediately begins to undergo repeated cell division from, two to four , four to eight always doubling until it becomes a little ball of many cells that forms a solid mass (the morula) or as God tagged it in surah Muminun:
Q23:12: “Then we made the sperm into a congealed blood, and then of that clot we made a (fetus) lump"
The solid mass, morula or lump as God said in the above verse, has a single layer forming a hollow sphere. This early lump of cells is the stem cells, the unspecialized cells that can make all other cells. This means the stem cells are capable of making progenitor cells like blood cells, bone cells and tissue cells, which in turn will keep making red blood cells, white blood cells etc. The next formation is the double walled sac, the outer wall is the ectoderm and the inner wall the endoderm, then a new layer is formed between the two called the mesoderm. The endoderm forms the lining of the air passage and most of the alimentary canal, while the mesoderm gives rise to blood and blood vessels, muscles, reproductive glands and kidneys. The ectoderm produces structures such as hairs, nails, mucus membranes and the central nervous system. God says in surah Layli:
Q92:3: "By the mystery of the creation of male and female"
Of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes, the last pair manifests differently in male and female chromosomes. In females it appears as tall identical pairs but in male it appears one tall and the other short. Thus, during fertilization the male and female donate as usual half of the 23 pairs, thus making 46 if combined into a zygote. So when the male sex pair donates tall chromosomes and combines with the female (that are all tall) the resulting zygote tall + tall becomes a boy. But if the male sex pair donates the short one and it combines with the female (that are all tall) the resulting zygote tall + short becomes a girl. This causes the child to inherit half the set of his father's chromosomes (with their accompanying genes) and his mother's half set of chromosomes (also with the accompanying genes).
Before the emergence of scientific facts, mankind assumed that all hereditary manifestations were through blood, though the idea originated from the philosopher Aristotle, 2500 years ago. As briefly outlined above blood cells were made from stem cells, the fetus began its existence without blood relying on the mother’s blood initially before stem cells produced the progenitor blood cells. Blood is of three types, the red blood cells (responsible for transport of materials like air, food and waste) and the white blood cells (responsible for safeguarding the body from harmful materials) and the platelets (responsible for congealing blood to stop bleeding). God continues in surah Hajj:
Q22:5: "We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed"
The fetus developmental stages do not resemble a human’s exactly, rather it portrays our ancestry. Beginning as a single cell after fertilization that thrives in an aquatic habitat, to a chunk of flesh and even appearing like a tadpole in the early weeks of gestation. Gill arches were laid down in the neck region similar to that which finally leads to the establishment of gills in fishes, but become other structures. The muscles of the trunk were laid down. At first, in irregular segmental arrangements, they appear as in adult forms of primitive vertebrates but then subsequently are re-arranged to definite patterns of muscles in human adults. In fact there is even a distinct projection of a tail, as in monkeys, which later becomes withdrawn into the pelvic cavity. That is why God said in surah Muminun:
Q23:14: "Then we develop out of it another creature. So bless God, the best to create"
God attests that the creature developing in the womb was not the creature delivered at birth. After about six months of the process of forming and unfurling, a distinct human shape is achieved and in about nine months it becomes equipped and mature enough to survive outside the womb and birth occurs. From conception to birth (the gestation period) God demonstrates to us our evolutionary past, from a single microscopic sperm cell to an individual with full pledged organs in trillions of cells.