The Issue of Semen with a Focus on the Unique Symphony of the Co-Evolution of Heart and Lung During Early Embryonic Development According to Ibn Sina (Kitab Al-Hayawan)

Abstract

Magdy Mohamed Zaabal*, Bakhrom Abdukhalimov, Wahid Mohamed Ahmed, Hesham H. El-Khadrawy, Faragalla M. El Moghazy and Amer H. A

Regarding to natural sciences and medicine, Ibn Sina designed an applied scientific pattern based on observation and experimental analysis, perhaps his most notable contributions in this field was in Embryology, where he provided a pioneering description of the embryonic development process, as a gradual process begins from the sperm then, the clinging clot (al-alqah-in Arabic) and ends with the differentiation of organs, which is the main subject of the current article. The Arab-Islamic civilization was not merely a containing context for Ibn Sina but a necessary condition for his intellectual emanation. The proof is that it provided him with linguistic tools motivations for scientific research, knowledge institutions, and a translation circumference. In turn, his philosophical and medical theories played a crucial role in developing the patterns and horizons of this civilization, not only, but also in consolidating the rational methodology that characterized it throughout the ages. Sperm is the origin of creation and human existence because it carries the genetic code for this creation. Sperm composition represents an amazing uniqueness, as it is produced through a complex and precise system of creative biological processes, which in turn are subject to a system of monitoring and inspection to ensure the safety and accuracy of the genetic component it carries. Germ cells are the source of heritable genetic variation, and they produce the totipotent zygote from which embryogenesis commences. Embryogenesis is essentially a highly coded and coordinated series of genetic processes. Genes expressed during spermatogenesis encode proteins both for general activities and for processes specific to germ cells. The first serious scientific attempt to describe human sperm was made by van Leeuwenhoek in 1677. Following this in 1678 Huygens published a letter in Journal des Scavans with first mention of spermatozoa, based on van Leeuwenhoek’s observations. Later on, Enrico Sertoli described the columnar cells running from the basement membrane to the lumen of the seminiferous tubules including unique branches of the cell’s cytoplasm that supported germ cell development. Arnold Berthold (1803-1861) was the first to provide conclusive evidence that the testes have an endocrine role, and he concluded that the regulation of male characteristics is carried out through factors transmitted via the blood. Sperm metabolism is recognized as flexible, responding to environmental conditions and energetic demands during ejaculation, the journey along the female tract, and until fertilization.

This article aims to elucidate the unique philosophical and scientific notions that accompanied Ibn Sina’s significant contribution of the study and analysis of early embryonic development. It focuses on two key aspects: firstly, Ibn Sina’s insightful awareness of the presence of the genetic component inside the head of the sperm, and was the first to describe the sperm as a “latent power”. Secondly, his vision and discovery of the symphony of integrative co-evolution the heart and the lung as if he was witnessing it firsthand in the distant depth of the early embryonic development.

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