role of the placenta

Question 1

what does the foetus need from the mothers blood?

Answer 1

glucose
amino acids
fatty acids
water
oxygen
mineral ions
vitamins

Question 2

how does the foetus blood connect to and from the placenta?

Answer 2

by the umbilical cord

Question 3

what hormone does the placenta secrete?

Answer 3

progesterone

Question 4

what does the progesterone do?

Answer 4

ensures the uterus lining remains thick and prevents the embryo from aborting

Question 5

what does the amnion do?

Answer 5

encloses the developing embryo

Question 6

what fluid does the ambion secrete?

Answer 6

a fluid called amniotic fluid

Question 7

what does amniotic fluid do?

Answer 7

protects the developing embryo against jolts and bumps, drying out and temperature fluctuations due to waters high specific heat capacity

Question 8

when do we call it a foetus?

Answer 8

when it looks human

Question 9

what happens at the end of nine months of development?

Answer 9

there isn’t any room left for the foetus to grow and it sends a hormonal signal to the mother to initiate birth- going into labour

Question 10

when do we call it a baby?

Answer 10

when the foetus is born

Question 11

what does the placenta develop from?

Answer 11

the embryo

Question 12

what does the placenta do to the embryo in the uterus?

Answer 12

anchors the embryo in the uterus

Question 13

what does the mothers blood also do?

Answer 13

absorbs the waste products from the foetus blood in the placenta

Question 14

what waste products are removed from the foetus blood?

Answer 14

carbon dioxide and urea

Question 15

how does the movement of most molecules across the placenta occur by?

Answer 15

diffusion due to difference in concentration gradients

Question 16

how is the placenta adapted by diffusion?

Answer 16

by having a large surface area and a thing wall for efficient diffusion

Question 17

what does the placenta act as?

Answer 17

a barrier to prevent toxins and pathogens getting into the foetus blood

Question 18

why does the blood between the embryo and the mother not mix?

Answer 18

the mothers blood is much higher pressure than the feral blood
the mothers blood has white blood cells and other chemicals that would see the fetal blood as foreign and attack it

Question 19

why are pregnant women advised not to smoke during pregnancy?

Answer 19

not all toxin molecules or pathogenic organisms are stopped from passing through the placenta- nicotine can pass across the placenta

Question 20

why does the umbilical cord being cut not hurt?

Answer 20

there are no nerves in it, just 2 blood vessels

Question 21

what type of nutrients are moved from the mother to the embryo?

Answer 21

glucose, amino acids and salts

Question 22

what metabolic waste is moved from the embryo to the mother?

Answer 22

carbon dioxide and urea