Ever wonder where the fetus resides inside the womb of a pregnant woman? Well the answer is our assignment for the week which is the placenta we often hear the word placenta on different beauty products such as soaps and lotions that are sold in the market but except from being a potent beauty product its main function is to act like a yolk sac for the fetus to reside on.
It connects the fetus to the uterus of the mother thus providing nutrition for the fetus it also allow the fetus to elliminate waste material and exchange respiratory gases with its environment the placenta is present in the womb of the mother since the first day of fetal life and last until the fetus is ready to be born approximately 9 months after conception.there are many hormones that are secreted by the placenta these hormones are classified as steroid and protien hormones.
THE HORMONES
The steroid hormones are the progestins which include the hormone progesterone these progestins function mainly in pregnancy they provide a conducive environment for the survival of the fetus and they also suppress the contraction of the smooth muscle of the uterus which plays a critical role in pregnancy.
Another steroid hormone is the estrogen which supresses the effect of progesterone and stimulate the growth of the myometrium these prepares the uterus for pregnancy estrogen is also responsible for the mammary gland development.
The other type of placental hormones which is the protien or protien based hormones includes the HCG or the human chorionic gonadotropin which is a definitive sign of pregnancy if present in high levels in the body.
All of these hormones play a critical role in pregnancy or child bearing and we wont be in this world without this very important hormones so Thank God and Thank mom for bearing us to this world.
for more information visit:
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/reprod/placenta/endocrine.html
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