THE BLOOD’S JOURNEY THROUGH THE VEINS

In previous chapters we referred to a gigantic network of nerves running right through our bodies. There is another such miraculous network. This consists of blood vessels. Like the network of nerves, blood vessels, too, circulate through the body. They are so long that their total length would be about 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) if they were spread over a flat surface. In fact, it is not hard at all to understand that there are blood vessels all around our body. Even a small scrape on any part of our body would start to bleed immediately. This proves that blood circulates all through our body. It is vital that we have blood vessels at every point because, as mentioned in the previous chapter, the nourishment required by the body cells is conveyed through the blood vessels. Oxygen that cells need for proper functioning is also carried to cells by the blood flowing through our veins. Transportation of the nourishment in the blood vessels may be compared to transporting freight by ship. Prior to shipment, first of all goods are placed upon the ship at the port. Goods should be properly packaged and placed. After all are loaded, the ship sets out and heads for the port of its destination. When it arrives at the port, all packages are unloaded and distributed to the concerned sections. In the blood vessels, nourishment is similarly transported to cells, just as ships transport cargo across the ocean. Oxygen, fats and amino acids flow in the bloodstream in packages and are unloaded at the target cells. This transportation schedule never fails. Proper amounts of required substances are conveyed to relevant cells just on time. Otherwise, for instance, if a cell that needed oxygen received fats instead, this cell would die. It should be noted that even the slightest mistake in this system could result in serious harm. Such mistakes never happen except in unusual cases, however, because none of these came into existence by chance. Allah, the Creator, created this system perfectly for our service. As blood circulates all through the body, it fulfills many tasks. Now let's have a brief look at these tasks.