Page 23 - For Men of Understanding

AMAZING TECHNIQUE OF
BLOOD SUCKING
The gnat’s technique of "blood-
sucking" depends on a complex sys-
tem in which unbelievably detailed
structures work together.
After the gnat lands on its target, it
first detects a spot by means of the
lips in its proboscis. The syringe-like
‘sting’ of the gnat is protected by a
special sheath, which is stripped back
during the blood-sucking process.
The gnat does not pierce the skin,
Sting as assumed, by thrusting its proboscis
into it with pressure. Here, the main
task falls to the upper jaw, which is as
sharp as a knife, and the mandible on
which there are teeth bent back-
wards. The gnat moves its mandible
Sheath
forwards and backwards like a saw
and cuts the skin with the help of the
upper jaws. When the sting, inserted through this
cut in the skin, reaches to the blood vessel, the
drilling ends. Now it is time for the gnat to suck
blood.
However, as we know, the slightest harm to
the vessels causes the human body to secrete an
enzyme that makes the blood clot and stops its
leakage. This enzyme should create a problem
for the gnat, because the body should also react
to the hole opened by the gnat, causing the
blood at this spot to clot immediately and the
wound to be repaired. That would mean that the
gnat could not suck any blood.
But the problem is eliminated for the gnat.
Before the gnat starts sucking blood, it injects a
special liquid secreted in its body into the cleav-
age opened in the living being it has stung. This
liquid neutralises the enzyme that causes the clot-

The Four Animals Emphasised in the Qur'an 21