Page 113 - The Miracle of Human Creation

THE CREATION OF A HUMAN BEING FROM A CELL

turn away from Our warning. Say: "Have you thought about those you
call upon apart from God? Show me what they have created on the
earth. Or do they have a partnership in the heavens? Produce a Book
for me revealed before this one or some other shred of divine know-
ledge, if you are telling the truth." (Qur'an, 46: 3-4)
The Placenta: The Bridge of Life

Life support systems produced by the latest technology, used in most
hospitals and valued at millions of dollars, are primitive and nearly useless
when compared with a piece of flesh weighing only a few kilograms. This
piece of flesh is the placenta, called by scientists "the real hero of birth". 32
At a particular time the embryo begins to take nutrients, oxygen and
other material from the mother's blood. The placenta, which is created to
supply all the needs of the developing foetus, acts as a bridge ensuring
the passage of this material between the mother and the foetus (From the
beginning of the third month, the embryo is called a foetus). The placen-
ta is filled with soft blood vessels which will carry to the baby the nutri-
ent material seeping from among the trophoblast cells; it sends all this
nutrient material, oxygen, and important minerals such as iron and calci-
um that come from the mother, first to the umbilical cord and then to the
capillary vessels of the foetus. Moreover, the placenta not only ensures the
supply of nutrients needed for the metabolism of the foetus, it also cho-
oses and transports to the foetus the nutrients needed for the formation of
its tissues. Amino acids are required by the foetus for all kinds of synthe-
33
ses (carbohydrates, nucleic acids the building blocks of DNA, fats, etc.)
The placenta selects these elements and takes them from the mother's blo-
od. This is generally done by special carriers. It stores the elements, uses

what is necessary for itself and sends a portion of them into the blood of
the foetus. Besides the nutrients, ions pass through the placenta; two of
these are especially important for the foetus, and it is necessary that they
be stored in large quantities. Of these, one is iron, needed to increase the
blood volume; the other is calcium, required for the development of the
bones. The transfer of these elements is particularly effective: even if the

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