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placenta Definition

pla·centa (plə sen′tə)

noun pl. placentas -·tas or placentae -·tae (-tē)

  1. Anat., Zool.
    1. a vascular organ, developed within the uterus of most mammals during gestation from the chorion of the embryo and a part of the maternal uterine wall, that is connected to the embryo by the umbilical cord and that is discharged shortly after birth: it serves as the structure through which nourishment for the fetus is received from, and wastes of the fetus are eliminated into, the circulatory system of the mother
    2. any similar structure in other animals
  2. Bot.
    1. that part of the lining of the ovary which bears the ovules
    2. any mass of tissue that bears sporangia or spores

Etymology: ModL < L, lit., a cake < Gr plakounta, acc. of plakous, a flat cake < plax (gen. plakos), a flat object < IE base *plāk-, flat > L placere, to please

Related Forms:

placenta Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • cross: Neonatal immunity In Humans, maternal IgG can cross the placenta.
  • retain: Karen had a natural third stage with her second baby, Lewie, after having had a retained placenta with her first baby.
  • deliver: I opted to deliver the placenta normally, which came out about an hour later.
  • lie: Q. Can I labor with a low lying placenta?
  • develop: Using ultrasound to guide the way, a needle is inserted through the mother's abdomen into the developing placenta.
  • form: A needle is used to take a sample of the cells that will form the placenta.

Adjective modifier

  • retained: Stages of labor Q. What causes a retained placenta?
  • human: In the case of the human placenta, the evidence seems to be more equivocal.
  • normal: Foals born at less than 300 days with a normal placenta are highly unlikely to survive.
  • abrupted: An abrupted placenta meant I had my baby by emergency cesarean early -- at 35 weeks.
  • low-lying: This may happen if you have a small or unusual shaped uterus, a fibroid or low-lying placenta.

Modifies a noun

  • praevia: I have never heard of doing ultrasound at the end of pregnancy just to rule out placenta praevia.
  • previa: Any women with placenta previa or with vaginal bleeding of an unknown cause should not participate in an exercise program.
  • accreta: The rate of placenta accreta is much higher in women with a prior cesarean, than otherwise.
  • abruption: She has been admitted to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, FL with possible placenta abruption.

Preposition: during

  • pregnancy: CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of an abnormality of growth factor expression in the placenta during pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia.

Noun used with modifier

  • mouse: These data show that placental Igf2 regulates the development of the diffusional exchange characteristics of the mouse placenta.

Preposition: after

  • birth: The usual separation of th e placenta after birth fails to occur and heavy bleeding may result.

Preposition: of

  • woman: Its only found in the placenta of pregnant women.