3.11 Placenta

3.11 describe the role of the placenta in the nutrition of the developing embryo

The developing embryo can’t digest, breathe or excrete so it needs a way to receive nutrients from the mother in order to grow, obviously it gets these nutrients from the mother through what is called the Placenta

The Placental structure consists of the Umbilical Cord containing blood vessels that lead from the embryo to the placenta. It is important to know that the placenta grows out from the embryo not from the mother. Initially the umbilical cord grows up towards the walls of the uterus and upon contact the child’s blood vessels spread out to form the placenta inside the walls of the uterus.

Glucose, amino acids and fats travel through the maternal blood vessel and cross into the embryo’s blood through the placenta. CO₂ and Urea from the embryo travel up the umbilical cord and cross into the mother’s blood also at the placenta. To make this process efficient the placenta has a large surface area and the barrier between the mother’s and child’s blood is very thin.