placenta

pla·cen·ta

noun \plə-ˈsen-tə\

plural pla·centas or pla·cen·tae\-ˈsen-(ˌ)tē\

Definition of PLACENTA

1

: the vascular organ in mammals except monotremes and marsupials that unites the fetus to the maternal uterus and mediates its metabolic exchanges through a more or less intimate association of uterine mucosal with chorionic and usually allantoic tissues; also : an analogous organ in another animal

2

: a sporangium-bearing surface; especially : the part of the carpel bearing ovules

Origin of PLACENTA

New Latin, from Latin, flat cake, from Greek plakoenta, accusative of plakoeis, from plak-, plax flat surface — more at fluke

First Known Use: 1691

Rhymes with PLACENTA

magenta, polenta, Polenta

pla·cen·ta

noun \plə-ˈsent-ə\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; pla·centasor ; pla·cen·tae \-ˈsent-(ˌ)ē\ (audio pronunciation)

Medical Definition of PLACENTA

: the vascular organ in mammals except monotremes and marsupials that unites the fetus to the maternal uterus and mediates its metabolic exchanges through a more or less intimate association of uterine mucosal with chorionic and usually allantoic tissues permitting exchange of material by diffusion between the maternal and fetal vascular systems but without direct contact between maternal and fetal blood and typically involving the interlocking of fingerlike vascular chorionic villi with corresponding modified areas of the uterine mucosa—see abruptio placentae

Illustration of PLACENTA

placenta

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Organ in most mammals that develops in the uterus along with a fetus to mediate metabolic exchange. The umbilical cord attaches it to the fetus at the navel. Nutrients and oxygen in the mother's blood pass across the placenta to the fetus, and metabolic wastes and carbon dioxide from the fetus cross in the other direction; the two blood supplies do not mix. Other substances (e.g., alcohol or drugs) in the mother's blood can also cross the placenta, with effects including congenital disorders and drug addiction in the newborn (see fetal alcohol syndrome); some microorganisms can cross it to infect the fetus, but so do the mother's antibodies. The placenta, weighing a pound or more at the end of pregnancy, is expelled at parturition. Some animals eat it as a source of nutrients; in some species this stimulates lactation.