SECOND SECTION · FOURTH CHAPTER · FIRST FASL · Fifth Article

SECOND SECTION · FOURTH CHAPTER · FIRST FASL · Fifth Article Fifth Article It describes the nerves emerging from the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. O dear one! It should be known that the scholars of anatomy have said as …

SECOND SECTION · FOURTH CHAPTER · FIRST FASL · Fifth Article

Fifth Article

It describes the nerves emerging from the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.

O dear one! It should be known that the scholars of anatomy have said as follows: The nerves emerging from the thoracic vertebrae have all been created as twelve pairs.

The exit point of the first pair has been found in the holes shared between the first and second thoracic vertebrae, and it is divided into two parts. The larger part is distributed to the lumbar muscles and the ribs. The smaller part extends to the first two ribs, from there proceeds alongside the eighth pair of cervical nerves, comes toward the hands, and reaches the arms and hands. The exit point of the second pair is the same shared holes just mentioned, and they too are divided into two parts. One part heads toward the skin of the arm and provides it with the sense of touch. [131/b] The other part joins with the remaining pairs and goes to the muscles that move the shoulder joint and the waist.

The branches of the nerves originating from the lumbar vertebrae (lumbar nerves) that do not reach the shoulder go to the lumbar muscles and the muscles of the ribs. The nerves ending in the rib vertebrae only reach the muscles between the ribs and the abdominal muscles. Along with the branches of these nerves, branches from the arteries and veins have entered completely through the previously explained nerve exit points.

The inguinal nerves are shared with the abdominal and lumbar nerves. For the inguinal nerves are divided into two parts. The first part is three pairs, by which the muscles are known. The other part is known as two pairs, which are the abdominal muscles. A nerve descending from the brain is mixed with the first part. The second part consists of two pairs of muscles coming from the abdomen. They send large branches to the two parts of the legs, and from the second pair of the first part, branches reach them. One branch also comes from the first of the coccygeal nerves (sacral nerves), and all are mixed together. Some of these remain in the hip bone, and some descend to the calves.

Because there are many vessels and muscles at the back of the body and inside the thighs, and since there is no path from the back of the body and the inside of the thighs to the feet for the muscles originating from the inguinal bone, a part of the nerves specific to the foot muscles reaches the canal descending into the testicles and from there enters the inguinal muscles. (Thus) from there, it heads toward the knee muscles and descends to the muscles of the knees.

It is a strange situation that the nerves of the coccyx—which is the base of the spine—(sacrum) are six pairs. One pair is mixed with the inguinal muscle. The remaining five pairs, together with a single nerve arising from the side of the sacrum and coccyx, are all distributed to the muscles of the anus, penis, bladder, and uterus, to the peritoneum, to the outward-facing parts inside the inguinal bone, and to the muscles coming from the coccyx (sacrum). The number of nerves explained in this section is, like the number of muscles previously mentioned, five hundred and thirty. The subtleties of the science of anatomy reported up to this point demonstrate the perfection of the power of the Exalted Allah, who creates everything from nothing. Every moment, there is testimony from the bodily organs that Allah has bestowed a great blessing upon the human kind. Thus, a person whose eye of the heart (baṣīra, inner sight) is open and who observes the arts gathered together in this way comes to know his Creator. He finds himself immersed in the sea of grace and beneficence. He loves his Lord with all his heart and soul and turns to Him in every state.

[580] . In ancient medicine, nerves are of two types: With one, sensation is perceived; these are sensory nerves (sensory nerves). The second are motor nerves, also called "motor nerves." Sensory nerves are for perceiving something; they have been created delicate and soft so that they may quickly transmit information to the body. Those for movement have been created layered and strong so that they do not break and become incapacitated. (Şemseddîn-i İtâkî’s Illustrated Anatomy Book, p. 156.)

[581] . In old works, the circular muscles of the eyelids, called adale-i medâriye-i ecfân, are also mentioned. Illustrated Kâmûs-ı Osmânî, Ed.: Ali Seydî, Matbaa-i Kütüphâne-i Cihan, Dâru’l-Hilâfeti’l-Aliyye, Dersaâdet 1330.

[582] . The dictionary meaning of derz-i lâmî is "lambdoid suture."

[583] . It descends from the place where the carotid arteries emerge and reaches the carotid artery. (İtâkî, ibid., 160.)

[584] . When it reaches the side of the larynx, it divides into several branches. (İtâkî, ibid., 160.)

[585] . It reaches the laryngeal muscles and the muscle that lifts the head upwards; after passing the larynx and reaching the chest, several branches return upward; they reach the muscles that open and close the head of the "ṭirjīḥālī" (arytenoid cartilage). (İtâkî, ibid., 160.)

[586] . Rectus capitis anterior, rectus capitis lateralis, and the suboccipital triangle.

[587] . Cutaneous nerves (small occipital and large occipital nerves). (Ibn Sīnā, ibid., p. 77.)

[588] . Semispinalis capitis, cervicis, etc. The second cervical nerve also sends a nerve to the sternomastoid muscle from the front. (Ibn Sīnā, ibid., p. 77.)

[589] . It is the first branch of the upper four cervical nerves coming from the cervical plexus. The plexus goes to the sternomastoid muscle and gives branches to the skin and muscles. (Ibn Sīnā, ibid., p. 78.)

The exit point of the second pair is from the holes shared between the first and second vertebrae. And from most of this pair, the organs in the head have found the sense of touch, as it completely encircles the head and wraps around the front of the head. It settles in the outer skin around the ears and completes what was lacking in the small pair previously explained. The remainder reaches the muscles at the back of the neck, reaching the flat muscle at the back of the neck, and movement is found in them.

O dear one! It should be known that the scholars of anatomy have said as follows: The function of some of the nerves in the body is direct (aṣlī); the function of some is indirect (ʿāriḍī). The direct function of the nerves is that the brain gives sensation and movement to other organs through them. The indirect function is that it gives strength to the muscles and strengthens the body. The main exit points of the nerves are the brain, and the place where their extensions finally reach is the skin. The brain has become the starting (ending, exit) point of the nerves in two ways.

The sixth pair is born from the back of the brain, adjacent to the fifth pair, and exits through the hole at the end of the derz-i lâmî (L suture), dividing into three parts. One part reaches the throat muscles and the root of the tongue to support the movement of the seventh pair. The second part is distributed to the shoulder muscles. The third part is larger than the previous two, rising where the neck vein rises and attaching to it. From there, as it descends to the internal organs, when it reaches the level of the larynx, branches separate from it and connect the tips that lift the larynx with its cartilages to the muscles above it. As it descends further and reaches the level of the larynx, again branches emerge from it, reaching the muscles that cover and open the third cartilage of the larynx and whose tips are curved. For this reason, according to medical scholars, its name is ʿaṣab-i rājiʿ (the recurrent nerve).

It is the first branch of the upper four cervical nerves coming from the cervical plexus. The plexus goes to the sternomastoid muscle and gives branches to the skin and muscles. (Ibn Sīnā, ibid., p. 78.)

It reaches the laryngeal muscles and the muscle that lifts the head upwards; after passing the larynx and reaching the chest, several branches return upward; they reach the muscles that open and close the head of the "ṭirjīḥālī" (arytenoid cartilage). (İtâkî, ibid., 160.)

Rectus capitis anterior, rectus capitis lateralis, and the suboccipital triangle.

It descends from the place where the carotid arteries emerge and reaches the carotid artery. (İtâkî, ibid., 160.)

When it reaches the side of the larynx, it divides into several branches. (İtâkî, ibid., 160.)

Cutaneous nerves (small occipital and large occipital nerves). (Ibn Sīnā, ibid., p. 77.)

Semispinalis capitis, cervicis, etc. The second cervical nerve also sends a nerve to the sternomastoid muscle from the front. (Ibn Sīnā, ibid., p. 77.)

In old works, the circular muscles of the eyelids, called adale-i medâriye-i ecfân, are also mentioned. Illustrated Kâmûs-ı Osmânî, Ed.: Ali Seydî, Matbaa-i Kütüphâne-i Cihan, Dâru’l-Hilâfeti’l-Aliyye, Dersaâdet 1330.

The dictionary meaning of derz-i lâmî is "lambdoid suture."

In ancient medicine, nerves are of two types: With one, sensation is perceived; these are sensory nerves (sensory nerves). The second are motor nerves, also called "motor nerves." Sensory nerves are for perceiving something; they have been created delicate and soft so that they may quickly transmit information to the body. Those for movement have been created layered and strong so that they do not break and become incapacitated. (Şemseddîn-i İtâkî’s Illustrated Anatomy Book, p. 156.)

The first pair; exits from the two holes of the first vertebra and is distributed only to the head muscles. This pair has been created thin and small, so that its exit point is narrow and the vertebral bones remain as they are.

The second pair of brain nerves is born from the back of the exit point of the first pair just explained, exits through the hole of the cavity surrounding the eye, and is divided among the muscles of the eyeball. This pair of nerves is quite thick, so that its thickness helps its softness, which comes from its proximity to the starting point, and with it, it gains strength and is able to move the cranial pairs.

The exit point of the fourth pair is from the holes shared between the third and fourth vertebrae. Like the third pair mentioned above, a part of it is distributed to the front and a part to the back; the front part being small, it mixes with the fifth pair. The back part turns toward the back, goes to the muscles from there, and reaches the sensenes. It sends branches to the muscles shared between the head and neck, and from there descends as far as the waist and ends there.