Medicine: The Beginning of Life

Against a dark background, a pinkish ovarian follicle swells until an egg bursts forth and sails along the convoluted lining of the fallopian tube like a miniature moon over a mountain range. Sperm, their tails thrashing, cluster together like salmon awaiting a signal to leap a waterfall. Cells, pulsing with life, divide and reproduce. Finally, in a scene reminiscent of the fadeout of 2001, a fetus, its already human form visible through a transparent amniotic sac, fills the screen. These spectacular images (see following pages) are not the products of a Hollywood special...

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