Keith L. Moore is a professor emeritus in the division of anatomy (department of surgery), former Chair of anatomy from 1974 to 1984 and associate dean for Basic Medical Sciences (Faculty of Medicine) at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
He has also worked at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia. Moreover, he is a founding member of the American
Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA). He was President of
the AACA between 1989 and 1991. He is most known for his textbooks on the
subjects of anatomy and human embryology.
He has co-written (with professor Arthur F. Dalley II) Clinically
Oriented Anatomy, which is the most popular English-language anatomy
textbook in the world, used by scientists, doctors, physiotherapists and
students worldwide. The book is especially popular because of its 'blue boxes'
- passages of text on blue background that relate the classical anatomy to
real-world concepts in the diagnosis and treatment of human patients. The book
has been translated into multiple languages. He also co-wrote (with professor
Anne M. R. Agur) Essential Clinical Anatomy.
Awards
The American Association of Clinical Anatomists awarded Dr.
Moore with their Honored Member Award (in 1994). In 2007, the American
Association of Anatomists awarded him with the first Henry Gray/Elsevier
Distinguished Educator Award.
Embryology and the Qur'an
Moore has written on "references to embryology in
the Qur'an", for instance, in an article for The
Journal of the Islamic Medical Association, Vol. 18, Jan-June 1986, pp.
15-16.
After reviewing Dr Moore C.V We shall read his
article
"Ascientist's interpretation of references
to embryology in the Qur'an"
Statements referring to human reproduction and development are
scattered throughout the Qur'an. It is only recently that the scientific
meaning of some of these verses has been appreciated fully. The long delay in
interpreting these verses correctly resulted mainly from inaccurate
translations and commentaries and from a lack of awareness of scientific
knowledge.
Interest in explanations of the verses of the Qur'an is not new.
People used to ask the prophet Muhammad all sorts of questions
about the meaning of verses referring to human reproduction. The Apostle's
answers form the basis of the Hadith literature.
The translations of the verses from the Qur'an which are
interpreted in this paper were provided by Sheik Abdul Majid Zendani,
a Professor of Islamic Studies in King Abdulaziz University in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"He makes you in the wombs of your
mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness." (Quran 36:6)
This statement is from Sura 39:6. We do not know when it was
realized that human beings underwent development in the uterus (womb), but the
first known illustration of a fetus in the uterus was drawn by Leonardo
da Vinci in the 15th century. In the 2nd century A.D., Galen described
the placenta and fetal membranes in his book "On The Formation of the
Foetus." Consequently, doctors in the 7th century A.D. likely knew that
the human embryo developed in the uterus. It is unlikely that they knew that it
developed in stages, even though Aristotle had described the
stages of development of the chick embryo in the 4th century B.C. The
realization that the human embryo develops in stages was not discussed and
illustrated until the 15th century.
After the microscope was discovered in the 17th century by Leeuwenhoek descriptions
were made of the early stages of the chick embryo. The staging of human embryos
was not described until the 20th century. Streeter (1941)
developed the first system of staging which has now been replaced by a more
accurate system proposed by O'Rahilly (1972).
"The three veils of darkness" may refer to: (1) the
anterior abdominal wall; (2) the uterine wall; and (3) the amniochorionic
membrane (Fig. 1). Although there are other interpretations of this statement,
the one presented here seems the most logical from an embryological point of
view.
"Then We placed him as a drop in a place of rest."
(Quran 23:13)
This statement is from Sura 23:13. The drop or nutfah has been
interpreted as the sperm or spermatozoon, but a more meaningful interpretation
would be the zygote which divides to form a blastocyst which is implanted in
the uterus ("a place of rest"). This interpretation is supported by
another verse in the Qur'an which states that "a human being is created
from a mixed drop." The zygote forms by the union of a mixture of the
sperm and the ovum ("The mixed drop").
"Then We made the drop into a leech-like structure." (Quran 23:14)
This statement is from Sura 23:14. The word "alaqah"
refers to a leech or bloodsucker. This is an appropriate description of the
human embryo from days 7-24 when it clings to the endometrium of the uterus, in
the same way that a leech clings to the skin. Just as the leech derives blood
from the host, the human embryo derives blood from the decidua or pregnant
endometrium. It is remarkable how much the embryo of 23-24 days resembles a
leech (Fig. 2). As there were no microscopes or lenses available in the 7th
century, doctors would not have known that the human embryo had this leech-like
appearance. In the early part of the fourth week, the embryo is just visible to
the unaided eye because it is smaller than a kernel of wheat.
"Then of that leech-like structure, We made a chewed lump." (Quran 23:14)
This statement is also from Sura 23:14. The Arabic word
"mudghah" means "chewed substance or chewed lump." Toward
the end of the fourth week, the human embryo looks somewhat like a chewed lump
of flesh (Fig. 3). The chewed appearance results from the somites which
resemble teeth marks. The somites represent the beginnings or primordia of the
vertebrae.
"Then We made out of the chewed lump, bones, and clothed
the bones in flesh." (Quran 23:14)
This continuation of Sura 23:14 indicates that out of the chewed
lump stage, bones and muscles form. This is in accordance with embryological
development. First the bones form as cartilage models and then the muscles
(flesh) develop around them from the somatic mesoderm.
"Then We developed out of it another creature." (Quran
23:14)
This next part of Sura 23:14 implies that the bones and muscles
result in the formation of another creature. This may refer to the human-like
embryo that forms by the end of the eighth week. At this stage it has
distinctive human characteristics and possesses the primordia of all the
internal and external organs and parts. After the eighth week, the human embryo
is called a fetus. This may be the new creature to which the verse refers.
"And He gave you hearing and sight and feeling and
understanding." (Quran 32:9)
This part of Sura 32:9 indicates that the special senses of
hearing, seeing, and feeling develop in this order, which is true. The
primordia of the internal ears appear before the beginning of the eyes, and the
brain (the site of understanding) differentiates last.
"Then out of a piece of chewed flesh, partly formed and
partly unformed." (Quran 22:5)
This part of Sura 22:5 seems to indicate that the embryo is
composed of both differentiated and undifferentiated tissues. For example, when
the cartilage bones are differentiated, the embryonic connective tissue or
mesenchyme around them is undifferentiated. It later differentiates into the
muscles and ligaments attached to the bones.
"And We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an
appointed term." (Quran 22:5)
This next part of Sura 22:5 seems to imply that God determines
which embryos will remain in the uterus until full term. It is well known that
many embryos abort during the first month of development, and that only about
30% of zygotes that form, develop into fetuses that survive until birth. This
verse has also been interpreted to mean that God determines whether the embryo
will develop into a boy or girl.
The interpretation of the verses in the Qur'an referring to
human development would not have been possible in the 7th century A.D., or even
a hundred years ago. We can interpret them now because the science of modern
Embryology affords us new understanding. Undoubtedly there are other verses in
the Qur'an related to human development that will be understood in the future
as our knowledge increases.
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