Lecture 11 - Placenta Flashcards
What is the general function of the placenta?
To support the developing embryo
What are the 2 parts to the placenta?
Fetal maternal organ:
Fetal part
Maternal part
What is the fetal part of the placenta?
Part that develops from the chorionic sac that’s the outermost fetal membrane
What is the maternal part of the placenta?
Part derived from endometrium (the innermost layer of the uterine wall)
Where does fertilisation of the ovum take place?
Ampulla
What happens after the ovum get fertilised?
Mitotic divisions occur
16 cell = morula
Becomes blastocyst
Blastocyst has inner cell mass and outer cell mass
Which part of the blastocyst (inner cell mass or outer cell mass) becomes the embryo/ is called the embryoblast?
Inner cell mass
What are the cells called that make up the outer cell mass before they differentiate?
Trophoblasts
What needs to happen to the endometrial stromal cells before implantation can occur?
Decidualisation
What is Decidualisation?
The process by which stromal cells differentiate into specialised Decidual cells
What are the 2 main functions of decidual cells formed by decidualisation?
They control the depth of invasion of the trophoblasts into the endometrium
Protects the conceptus from maternal immune rejection since contains foreign DNA (Fathers)
What is considered normal implantation?
Location: upper part of uterus (fundus)
Normal invasion: within decidua (stratum functionalis)
What cells of the embryo are important in implantation?
Trophoblasts of outer cell mass
What important structures are important on the endometrium for implantation?
Pinopodes
Integrin receptors
What forms the loose connection in implantation?
Microvili of trophoblasts join to the pinopodes of the endometrium
What forms the strong connections in implantation?
Integrins on trophoblasts bin to integrin receptors on endometrium
What are the 2 connections that form in implantation?
Loose connection = microvilli on trophoblasts join to pinopodes
Strong connection = Integrins on trophoblasts join to integrin receptors
What 2 different types of cells do the trophoblasts differentiate into?
Cytotrophoblast
Syncytiotrophoblast
What is the function of the syncytiotrophoblasts?
Makes HCG to maintain corpus luteum preventing endometrium from shedding
Makes roots invading endometrium in the stroma
Makes enzymes involving invasion
What are the gaps between the invading syncytiotrophoblasts roots called?
Lacunae (fill with blood)
What is the function of the cytotrophoblasts?
They send projections through the syncytiotrophoblasts invading roots forming the Primary Villus with intervillus spaces
What is the extraembryonic mesoderm?
The layer between the cytotrophoblasts and the embryoblast/inner cell mass
The cavity the fills with fluid
What is the function of the connecting stalk?
It becomes the umbilical cord that connects the embryo to placenta
What forms the secondary villus?
The somatic layer of the extra embryonic mesoderm invades into the primary villus forming the 3 layers secondary villus
What does the connecting stalk differentiate into?
3 blood vessels
2 umbilical arteries
1 umbilical vein
What takes place to format the tertiary villus?
Chorionic vessels grow up into the villus
Umbilical vein and artery start to fill intervilous spaces
What are the cotyledons?
What forms the cotyledons?
They are groups of tertiary villi
Formed by decidual cells invaginate into the growing placenta forming septa that separate the cotyledons
What happens to the layers of the placenta as it matures?
Layers get thinner especially the Cytotrophoblast layer
To allow for material exchange
What are the 3 important embryonic sacs?
Yolk sac
Amniotic sac
Chorionic sac
What happens to the yolk sac during development?
Disappears
What happens to the amniotic sac during development?
It enlarges
What happens to the chorionic sac during development?
Lies outside the placenta and contains the expanding amniotic sac