Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about the Function of the Placenta.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero tofinals.com slash function of the placenta

or in the reproductive system section of the zero to finals

Obes and Guine book.

So let's get straight into it.

We're going to talk about the five functions of the placenta.

The placenta has a respiration function, a nutrition function, an excretion function, an endocrine

function, and an immunity function. So let's start with respiration. The placenta is the only

source of oxygen for the growing fetus. The fetal hemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than adult

hemoglobin. The fetal hemoglobin is essentially more attractive to oxygen molecules than the

maternal hemoglobin. As a result, when maternal blood and fetal blood are nearby in the placenta,

oxygen is drawn off the maternal hemoglobin across the placental membrane

onto the fetal hemoglobin.

And this is how the fetus gets its oxygen.

Carbon dioxide, hydrogen ions, bicarbonate and lactic acid are also exchanged in the placenta,

allowing the fetus to maintain a healthy acid-based balance.

Next, let's talk about nutrition.

All of the nutrition of the fetus comes from the mother.

This nutrition is mostly in the form of glucose, which is

used for energy and growth. The placenta can also transfer vitamins and minerals to the fetus,

as well as potentially harmful substances if the mother is consuming medications, alcohol, caffeine,

...