In 1965, when Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson’s picture of a developing fetus in the womb was published in the American magazine Life magazine, it caused a huge sensation. Within days, 8 million copies of the full print version of the fetal development photo were sold. Now, more than 40 years have passed, yet the shock of these photos has not diminished with the passage of time. Qin Zhan, Department of Male Medicine, Zhuhai Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
The company has been interested in biology for a long time, so around the 1960s, he decided to record every step of the human embryo development process. This project was supported by Life magazine, and after four years of hard work, Nelson completed his task and his work was published in Life magazine, causing a worldwide sensation.
With the help of advanced photography technology, Nilsson was able to take photos with greater clarity and magnification. some of Nilsson’s fetal development photos were taken with a conventional camera with a macro lens, while others were taken through an endoscope. With the help of a scanning electron microscope, Nilsson was able to take photos that were magnified hundreds of thousands of times. Through a high magnification scanning electron microscope, Lennart Nilsson takes people into a world that would otherwise be impossible to view – the inside of the body, the cells, the various tissues and how we are conceived, how we grow inside our mothers and eventually come into the world. It all seems so magical and beautiful that it makes people feel closer to their own bodies than they ever have before.
This collection of photographs of the unborn fetus documents the entire development of a sperm into a fetus, changing our understanding of human life before birth. These photographs are unique and recognized as teaching material, but also exist in an aesthetically pleasing way. The photographs have been burned on metal tapes by NASA and launched from Earth into space on an unmanned spacecraft, and a large hardcover book, A child born, published by Jonathan Cape Press, includes Nilsson’s stunning photographs of fetal development.
Viewing these amazing photos not only makes us marvel at the photographer’s scientific spirit and skill, but also increases our awe of life!
Human egg with crown cells The purple human egg in this colorful picture sits on a column. It is covered with a transparent band of glycoprotein, which serves both to protect the egg cell and to trap and restrain sperm. Two red crown cells are attached to the hyaline ribbon
The fallopian tube umbrella (the expelled egg is trapped by this umbrella and allowed to enter the fallopian tube)
An egg from the mother’s ovary lies within the mucosal folds of one of the fallopian tubes, and within this tube to the uterus, a sperm from the father will fertilize the egg to create a new human being
The egg swims through the narrow, approximately 15-centimeter-long fallopian tube toward the uterus, surrounded by a beautiful halo of nourishing cells. Soon, it will meet the sperm and begin the process of fertilization.
Five million sperm swim simultaneously to their final destination – the egg hidden in the fallopian tube
Sperm on the surface of the egg This image shows a large number of sperm competing to fertilize the egg
Sperm and egg meet
Attack: A sperm burrows into the shell of an egg. At this point the sperm’s head is already drilled in We can also see its middle and tail, which is like a constantly rotating drill, driven by the tail slap, working its way into the egg.
Attack: two sperm burrow into the shell of one egg at the same time (this is how identical twins are created)
The sperm head has completely entered the egg, leaving only the tail
Tiny projections on the surface of the egg pull the sperm into the egg The tail of the sperm is then truncated, leaving only the head and midsection inside the egg cell
Once a sperm enters the egg, the other sperm don’t stand a chance, which is seen more clearly from this angle (to be continued)
Summary]
We often say, “If there is a destiny to meet a thousand miles, there is no destiny to meet opposite.” In the process of human conception, the meeting of sperm and egg is also a kind of fate, and they have to break through many hurdles in order to “finally become a couple”. The whole process is amazing, dangerous, and even a little thrilling. How do they come together and give birth to a life form? How strong are they?
When a woman ovulates, her ovaries expel an egg, which is picked up by the umbrella end of the fallopian tube and moved towards the uterus by the propulsive function of the tube. Since the egg cell (it is the only human cell that can be seen with the naked eye) is relatively large and does not have the ability to move on its own, it goes very slowly when it travels to the abdomen of the fallopian tube, or even simply stops “Here it can wait patiently for 24 hours for the arrival of the numerous sperm “pursuing” it.
The egg appears to be carefree and relaxed in the process of conception, while for the sperm, the process of “pursuing” the egg appears to be difficult and cruel, after a successful sex, hundreds of millions of sperm will enter through the vaginal opening, as if a swimming race has just begun, they not only have to compete with their compatriots, but also to break through There are many hurdles ahead before they can meet the egg at the finish line in happiness. The first barrier is the vaginal secretion barrier, which is acidic and not conducive to sperm survival, so they have to “escape” from this place as soon as possible, and poorer quality sperm are eliminated at this hurdle. Next is the cervical mucus barrier. Although the cervical mucus is good for sperm activity, only those sperm with normal head shape and high motility can break through the barrier and reach the cervical canal. After these two hurdles, the sperm left behind are the “good swimmers”. However, the journey is only halfway to the cervical canal, where the negative pressure of the uterine cavity draws them into the uterine cavity and then towards the fallopian tubes, where they receive help from the peristalsis of the tubes, epithelial cilia and tubal fluid. The lucky sperm can rush to the fallopian tube in just a few minutes, while the slow ones will take 1 to 2 hours to arrive. Only 100 to 200 sperm survive for 48 hours and eventually break through the hardships and obstacles to reach the fallopian tube, where they gain the energy to drill into the egg as they pass through the reproductive tract.