Any kind of surgery on the human body comes with an associated level of risk.

But the decision as to whether or not to perform surgery on a fetus, that's a baby that's still inside its mother,

is undoubtedly one of the most challenging in medicine.

This kind of surgery involves penetrating the highly delicate amniotic sack,

a fluid-filled membrane that holds and protects the fetus in the womb.

Sealing this sack after surgery is no simple task.

But inspired by the tenacious grip of muscles to slippery rocks,

scientists may have come up with an answer.

Hi there, I'm Patrick Aye and welcome to 30 animals that made a smarter from the BBC World Service.

The podcast which investigates the amazing things that animals have taught us. Thanks for all your comments about the series so far.

We love to hear from you.

And thanks for all the suggestions you've sent us of animal inspired technology, inventions and ideas.

We've selected some of them for a special final show which we've recorded in front of an audience and with some real animals as well.

But please do keep sending us your ideas as you never know.

If we get enough we might even make another series

so keep them coming. You can email us at 30 Animals at BBC.com or you can contact us via our website BBC World Service

dot com slash 30 animals. In this episode number 26 muscle muscle and fetal surgery, we'll hear how the adhesive

properties of common muscles could help make fetal surgery much safer.

According to Deidrich Bolkinender, who's a member of the Messer Smith research group at the University of California in Berkeley, one of the greatest risks in performing surgery on a fetus

isn't the surgical procedure itself, but the insertion of a fetal scope through the very fragile

amniotic sack.

The amniotic sack, as I mentioned earlier,

...