placenta Flashcards
1
Q
what does the placenta do?
A
- Secretes hormones
- Transports wastes to mother’s blood for excretion by mother’s kidneys
- Transports antibodies
- Transports nutrients
- Transports oxygen from mother to foetus and carbon dioxide from foetus to mother
2
Q
how is the placenta developed?
A
- As the blastocyst implants into the endometrium, small finger like projections develop on its outer wall
- Projections are called chorionic villi
- Villi contain blood vessels
- Villi form blood pools in the endometrium = fuse with the uterus wall and form the placenta
- Foetal and maternal blood remain separated by placental membranes
3
Q
what do chronic villi in the placenta do?
A
increase surface area for diffusion of nutrient, wastes and gases
4
Q
what does the one umbilical vein in the placenta do?
A
carries nutrients and oxygen to foetus
5
Q
what do the two umbilical arteries do?
A
carries foetus’s wastes towards placenta
6
Q
how is the placenta attached to feotus?
A
umbilical cord
