Transcript Placenta
The Placenta The Placenta • Allows female mammals to carry the young inside their bodies during early development. • During pregnancy, the developing foetus receives all its nutrients via the placenta. • All the waste products in the foetus’s blood are removed via the placenta. • The placenta also produces hormones. The Placenta The Placenta The Placenta The placenta consists of thousands of tiny branched fingers of tissue called CHORIONIC VILLI these project into the endometrium. The maternal blood vessels surrounding the chorionic villi break down forming maternal blood sinuses The Placenta Diagram showing chorionic villi The Placenta Table showing exchange of materials across the placenta Mother to Foetus •Oxygen •Glucose •Amino acids •Lipids, fatty acids & glycerol •Vitamins •Ions; Na, Cl, Ca, Fe •Alcohol, nicotine + other drugs •Viruses •Antibodies Foetus to Mother •Carbon dioxide •Urea •Other waste products The Placenta short diffusion distances; breakdown of membranes; placenta has a large S/A:Vol; because of chorionic villi and lacunae; slow movement of blood at exchange surfaces; transport proteins present for facilitated diffusion of glucose; transport proteins present for active transport of ions and a.a’s;