chorionic anchoring villus

anchoring villus

A distal smaller chorionic stem villus that is connected to the maternal side of the placenta (in early gestational stages to the decidua, and later to the developing basal plate) via a cytotrophoblast cell column. A chorionic anchoring villus stabilizes the position of the villous tree in the maternal intervillous bloodstream.

Type Organ
Structure parente chorionic stem villus
Nom latin anchoring villus

Questions fréquentes

What is a chorionic anchoring villus?
A chorionic anchoring villus is a specialized type of chorionic villus that physically connects the villous tree to the maternal uterine wall. It is the distal portion of a chorionic stem villus that is attached to the maternal decidua in early pregnancy and to the developing basal plate later in pregnancy through a column of cytotrophoblast cells.
What is a cytotrophoblast cell column?
A cytotrophoblast cell column is a column of proliferating cytotrophoblast cells extending from the tip of a chorionic anchoring villus to the maternal decidua. Cells at the base of this column break through the syncytiotrophoblast and invade the decidua and maternal spiral arteries, becoming the extravillous trophoblasts that remodel the uteroplacental vasculature.
How do anchoring villi stabilize the placenta?
Chorionic anchoring villi stabilize the position of the villous tree within the maternal intervillous bloodstream by providing fixed attachment points to the uterine wall. Without this anchoring, the floating villous tree would be dislodged by the flow of maternal blood through the intervillous space. The anchoring villi thus provide structural integrity to the entire placental attachment.
How do anchoring villi differ from floating villi?
Anchoring villi are directly attached to the maternal uterine wall (decidua or basal plate) via the cytotrophoblast cell column, while chorionic floating villi are not attached to the maternal side and are freely immersed in maternal blood within the intervillous space. Floating villi are the primary site of gas and nutrient exchange, whereas anchoring villi are primarily structural.
What happens if anchoring villi fail to properly attach?
Defective implantation and anchoring can result in placental abnormalities such as placenta accreta spectrum, where the cytotrophoblast cells invade too deeply into or through the myometrium (placenta accreta, increta, or percreta). Insufficient invasion by anchoring villus trophoblasts is associated with preeclampsia, where inadequate remodeling of spiral arteries leads to reduced uteroplacental blood flow and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

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Data sources: Terminologia Anatomica, Foundational Model of Anatomy, Wikidata.