The placenta is an amazing structure ... with chorionic villi extending into them. Maternal and fetal cells intermingle in the maternal side of these spaces and the umbilical cord is formed ...

Bustamante and her colleagues suspected that maternal smoking affects the placenta, a vital organ for fetal development. The placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, while getting rid of ...

In the human, the placenta is the predominant route of IgG transfer in the maternal-to-fetal direction; the immune protection provided by maternal antibodies is essential for newborns during the ...

The team found that in the normally formed placenta, the activity of certain critical genes in the endothelial cells decreases from the maternal to the fetal side. This zonation occurs in relation ...