3.11 Placenta

Describe the role of the placenta in the nutrition of the developing embryo.

1. The foetus relies upon its mother as it develops.

• protection
  
• oxygen
  
• nutrients (food and water).
  

2. The fetus is protected by the uterus and the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus.
3. The placenta is responsible for providing oxygen and nutrients. (in the blood stream you have glucose, amino acids and fats that travel through to the wall of the uterus, then cross into the child's blood.
4. The placenta (has a large surface area) and grows into the wall of the uterus and is joined to the foetus by the umbilical cord.
5.

• oxygen and nutrients diffuse across the placenta from the mother to the fetus
  
• waste substances, such as carbon dioxide, diffuse across the placenta from the fetus to the mother.