Expert: John Locke - 7/31/2010

Question
QUESTION: 1- Is it scientifically accurate to say that a person is created from the fluid(s) that gush(es) forth from the loins of the father and the mother's (pelvic arch, or ovaries, or ,which is quite different, the ribs (ribcage) area)?
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> 2- Is it scientifically accurate to say that the seminal vesicles are between the backbone and the ribs (anywhere between NOT necessarily in the middle of the distance)?

3- Are bones formed before muscles in the embryonic development process? Is there a period in the embryonic development where the flesh is attached to the bones and , prior to that, they are not attached?
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> Your answers mean a lot to me.
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> Thanks,

ANSWER: 1. The process of fertilization involves the junction of sperm--donated from the male--and ovum or egg, donated from the female. Sperm are carried in seminal fluid (semen), which also contains water, carbohydrates, and ions that buffer the pH of the fluid. The egg is released from a developing oocyte (a process known as ovulation) with a collection of other cells that secrete hormones necessary for the development of the egg and provide some degree of protection for the egg. The egg is surrounded by a membrane that allows only a single sperm to penetrate and fertilize it.

2. The seminal vesicles are located behind the male bladder. The vesicles empty into the ductus deferens as it enters the prostate; they lie in the pelvic cavity, below the abdominal and thoracic cavities and thus below the ribs.

3. For a complete description of the development of muscle and bone, I would refer you to any basic embryology text. The process of bone and muscle development is quite complex; to give you a simple answer, the ultimate structures that will form fully developed bone and muscle arise embryologically at the same time, but they grow at different rates and in different fashion. There is no point at which bone has formed but muscle has nor or vice versa. Bone takes longer to develop fully, because the majority of bones in the human body develop from cartilage and don't fully develop until the age of 25 or so. Muscle develops along with the cartilage molds, as does the skin; it is a continuous process without a definite point at which "attachment" occurs.

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QUESTION: Thanks a lot for the answer.  you said that the vesicles are below the ribs. Would you say it's far fetched but technicaly accurate to describe their location as betweeen the ribs and the backbone (I already looked at it but need a second opinion)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeletonand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Male_anatomy_en.svg
Also, would you say that the fluid that the fallopian tubes produce are close to the ribs area?

Answer
The seminal vesicles are located behind the male bladder, which (as is the female bladder) is located in the pelvic cavity. The upper and lower borders of the pelvic cavity are the pelvic inlet (the bottom of the pelvis) and the pelvic outlet (the top of the pelvis). This lies below the rib cage, and indeed entirely below the spinal column. As such, the seminal vesicles cannot be said to lie between the ribs and spine. They do not lie between the ribs and the spine.