How is the placenta connected to the fetus?

How is the placenta connected to the fetus?

The placenta and fetal membranes separate the fetus from the endometrium, the inner layer of the uterine wall. An interchange of substances, such as nutrients and oxygen, occurs between the maternal and fetal bloodstreams through the placenta. The vessels in the umbilical cord connect the placental circulation with the fetal circulation.

How is the maternal part of the fetus formed?

The maternal part is formed by the decidua basalis , the part of the decidua related to the fetal component of the placenta (see Fig. 7.1 C to F ). By the end of the fourth month, the decidua basalis is almost entirely replaced by the fetal part of the placenta.

Where does maternal blood flow in the uterus?

Fresh maternal blood continuously flows into the intervillous space from uterine spiral arteries, and drains away through uterine veins, which carry off the fetal waste products for the mother to metabolise. The purpose of the villi is to create a sufficiently large surface area for the exchange process to occur efficiently.

What does the placenta and umbilical cord do?

The placenta and umbilical cord form a transport system for substances passing between the mother and embryo/fetus. Nutrients and oxygen pass from the maternal blood through the placenta to the embryo/fetal blood, and waste materials and carbon dioxide pass from the fetal blood through the placenta to the maternal blood.

How is the fetus connected to the placenta?

The placenta allows nutrients and wastes to be exchanged between the mother and fetus. The fetus is connected to the placenta through the umbilical cord. Review What makes up a placenta?

How is oxygen transferred from the mother to the fetus?

Oxygen transfer mainly depends on the oxygen partial pressure gradient between maternal blood in the intervillous space and fetal blood in the umbilical arteries (∼4 kPa). Oxygen transfer to the fetus is enhanced by the Bohr effect. At the materno-fetal interface, maternal blood takes up carbon dioxide and becomes more acidotic.

Where does the placenta and umbilical cord transfer nutrients?

Placenta and umbilical cord are two components of the fetal-life support system of a developing fetus inside the uterus. Placenta absorbs nutrients and oxygen from mother’s bloodstream and transfers to the fetus via the umbilical cord.

How are molecules transported across the placenta during passage?

Additionally, a number of molecules that cross the placenta are metabolized to other things during passage. There are a number of differences among species in the characteristics of transport across the placenta, which should not be a big surprise considering the differences in structure of the placental interface.