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Describe in Brief the Structure and Function of the Placenta
Answer:
Definition Of Placenta
The placenta is an organ that is formed in the uterus during pregnancy. The structure of a placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to the growing foetus. It also extracts waste products from the blood of the baby.
The baby’s umbilical cord arises from the placenta when it is attached to the wall of the uterus. It can be attached to either the top, front, side or back of the uterus. The organ might get attached to the lower side of the uterus in some rare cases. In such cases, it is known as the low-lying placenta.
Structure Of Placenta
The structure of the placenta is such that it creates a strong connection between the mother and the growing baby.
A number of finger-like projections grow out from the outer surface of the chorion into the tissue of the uterus. These finger-like projections are known as chorionic villi.
The chorionic villi penetrate the uterine wall of the mother and develop the placenta. It connects the foetal membrane and the inner uterine wall.
The foetal blood and the mother’s blood come into very close contact in the placenta which makes the exchange of materials from the mother to the baby easier.
Functions Of Placenta
- Nutrition- food and minerals are transferred from the mother’s blood to the foetus through the placenta
- Digestion- the placenta digests the protein before passing it to the foetus
- Respiration- placenta also helps in respiration as the oxygen passes from the mother’s blood to the blood of the foetus and carbon dioxide is passed from the blood of the foetus to the mother’s blood
- Excretion- urea from the blood of the foetus is passed through the placenta to the mother’s blood where it gets filtered out by the kidneys
- Storage- the placenta stores glycogen and fat for the formation of the liver of the foetus
- Endocrine function- the placenta also acts as an endocrine gland as it secretes hormones such as progesterone and oestrogen
