Placenta Essay

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The placenta is an extraordinary organ that links the foetus to the mother whilst keeping the blood supply separate and carrying out functions that the unborn child cannot on its own. It acts as an endocrine organ, synthesising hormones essential for the growth and development of the foetus; it provides an immunological function, passing antibodies for immunity from mother to child; but perhaps most importantly, it provides nutrition in the form of oxygen, glucose and other substances whilst excreting waste products such as carbon dioxide.
The placenta and foetus feature many adaptations to ensure the most efficient gas exchange and to ensure high oxygen availability to the foetus . Gas exchange across the placental blood-blood barrier is …show more content…

(University of Michigan Medical School, 1999). The syncytiotrophoblast is covered with many structures known as chorionic villi which transport oxygen from the maternal blood circulation to the foetal circulation and vastly increase the surface area of the chorion for gas exchange to take place. They project through the syncytiotrophoblast into the intervillous space where they are directly in contact with the maternal blood. The placenta itself is averages 22cm in diameter (Yetter, J, 1998) but the chorion has an approximate surface area of 12m2 (Wang Y and Zhao S, 2010) allowing for a much greater surface over which oxygen exchange can take …show more content…

libr. women's med., (ISSN: 1756-2228) DOI 10.3843/GLOWM.10101

Austin, C and Short R (1972) Embryonic and Fetal Development. Cambridge University Press. Pg 78
Blackburn, Susan Tucker (2007) Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Physiology: A Clinical Perspective 3rd edition. Saunders Elsevier. Pg 104.

Colorado State University (2000) Transport Across the Placenta http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/reprod/placenta/transport.html [accessed 15/01/2014]
Donnelly, Leo and Campling, Gillian (2011) Functions of the placenta, Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, Volume 12, Issue 3, March 2011, Pages 111-115, ISSN 1472-0299, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mpaic.2010.11.001.

Embryology (n.d.) The Physiology of the Placenta: Role of the placenta in the feto-maternal exhcnage processes. Human Embryology. http://www.embryology.ch/anglais/fplacenta/physio02.html [accessed 15/01/2014]

Encyclopaedia Britannica (2007) Blood (biochemistry): Respiration http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/69685/blood/35406/Respiration#ref249261 [accessed

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