placenta
noun
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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
Examples of placenta in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Obstetricians are now testing whether there is any benefit to providing extra blood from the placenta at the time of delivery to nonbreathing infants. — Laura Landro, WSJ, "The New, Improved World of Infant Care," 16 Sep. 2018 She was diagnosed with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD), a condition in which tumors grow in the cells that would normally develop into the placenta. — Natalie Lampert, Marie Claire, "Why Women Reeling From Miscarriage Are Turning to the Web," 1 Oct. 2018 The new blood test identifies which genes in the mother, placenta and fetus give reliable signals about gestational age and prematurity risk. — Laura Landro, WSJ, "The New, Improved World of Infant Care," 16 Sep. 2018 The drugs can pass through the placenta into the developing nervous system. — Fox News, "Mom's prenatal opioids may stunt kids' learning, study finds," 30 Aug. 2018 During its brief existence, the placenta is a workhorse of an organ. — Jared Gilmour, miamiherald, "You can inherit schizophrenia. But what happens during pregnancy is key, new study says," 28 May 2018 The gene variants likely affect how resilient the placenta is to stress from its environment. — Dana G. Smith, Scientific American, "The Placenta Is Now a Suspect In Heightening Schizophrenia Risk," 28 May 2018 MiMedx makes tissues from donated placentas for wound care and other uses. — Scott Trubey, ajc, "MiMedx CEO ‘Pete’ Petit resigns amid corporate turmoil," 2 July 2018 In the photo, Van Der Beek is sitting on the ground with his baby in his arms and a placenta placed in a mixing bowl in front of him. — Jennifer Earl, Fox News, "James Van Der Beek shares photo of wife's placenta: 'Word of caution, if you’re squeamish'," 19 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'placenta.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for placenta
placenta
noun
English Language Learners Definition of placenta
medical : the organ in mammals that forms inside the mother's uterus, nourishes the unborn baby, and is pushed out of the mother after the birth of the baby
See the full definition for placenta in the English Language Learners Dictionary
placenta
noun
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Kids Definition of placenta
: the organ in most mammals by which the fetus is joined to the uterus of the mother and is nourished
placenta
noun
\
\
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
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