placental disc

placental disk

A disc-shaped structure that is part of the placenta. A placental disc supports fetal development through the exchange of nutrients between maternal and fetal bloodstreams. The placental disc is structured to keep the blood streams separate, while maximizing surface area for the transport of nutrients between them, to maintain an immunological barrier.

Tipo Organ
Estrutura pai anatomical structure
Nome latino placental disk

Perguntas frequentes

What is the placental disc?
The placental disc is the disc-shaped organ that develops during pregnancy to support fetal development. It facilitates the exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and waste products between the maternal and fetal bloodstreams while maintaining structural separation between these two circulations and providing an immunological barrier.
How does the placental disc structure enable exchange without mixing maternal and fetal blood?
The placental disc is organized so that maternal blood flows through the intervillous space surrounding the chorionic villi, while fetal blood flows within the capillaries inside the villi. Exchange occurs across the villous membrane consisting of syncytiotrophoblast, cytotrophoblast, villous mesenchyme, and fetal capillary endothelium. This hemochorial structure maximizes exchange surface while keeping the two blood supplies completely separate.
What is the surface area of the placental disc and why does it matter?
The human placenta at term has an enormous total exchange surface area estimated at 10–14 square meters, achieved through extensive branching of the chorionic villi into thousands of terminal villi. This large surface area is critical for supporting the metabolic demands of the fetus, particularly for oxygen transfer, which requires rapid diffusion across a short distance and large area.
What are the two sides of the placental disc?
The placental disc has two surfaces: the fetal (chorionic) surface, which is smooth, shiny, and covered by the chorionic plate from which the umbilical cord arises; and the maternal (basal) surface, which is rough and divided into 10–40 lobes called cotyledons by fibrous septa, and is in contact with the maternal decidua basalis and spiral arteries.
What is placenta previa and how does it relate to placental disc position?
Placenta previa occurs when the placental disc implants in the lower uterine segment, covering or approaching the internal cervical os. This abnormal position means the placenta lies in front of the presenting fetal part and overlies the birth canal, causing painless antepartum hemorrhage and requiring cesarean delivery to avoid catastrophic bleeding during vaginal birth.

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