Sperm made from bone marrow
Chinese Medicine, In the news, Theory
This story about sperm made from bone marrow reminds us that in Chinese medicine there always has been a link between the bones and reproduction.
The Kidneys are organs of Water, the most Yin of the Five Elements. To that affect they rule over the deepest and most dense parts of the body; this includes the bones and the teeth. It also includes the bone marrow that, in TCM, includes the spinal cord, the nervous system and even the brain.
The Kidneys also store Essence that most vital of substances that is passed from parent to offspring. Not only is the Essence the foundation of our physical selves it acts as an hourglass to our lifespan. As our Essence and Source Ki depletes and grows weaker so we age and eventually die.
Tony Brown @ April 23, 2007
This is great Tony and ties in with Epigenetics
, have a look at my latest post or Dragon Pheonix for more info.
Trace
Tony, if sperm is made from bone marrow and one has a bone marrow transplant and then has a child would the offspring then inherit the ancestral ki of a third party. Would this, I wonder, protect the child from depleted essence and source ki, working on the premis that the donor’s ki was strong, or could it compromise the health of the child by means of any other latent deficiencies within the same ki?
Zenbob,
The reference to sperm made from marrow is not about TCM but a new technique in Western reproductive science that I used as a springboard for a post.
In TCM sperm comes from Essence stored in the Kidneys. The same is true of the egg of the child’s mother. That Essence itself comes partly from our own parents and from the food we eat and air we breath.
If one has a transplant then I do not think that it would have any effect on the Essence passed on to a future child. Their constitution is determined by the quality of the Essence you can pass to them. So, if the transplant improved your health then you would be transforming food and air Ki more efficiently and thus storing better Essence.
Thanks for the question it was a real poser. If anyone out there has a different view then please add your own comments.
Tony