Placenta developmental features are best described as which?

Placenta developmental features are best described as which?

• A. A muscle that contracts to deliver the baby during labor
• B. Bridge between mother and offspring providing nutrients, excretory, respiratory, and endocrine organ (secretes hCG)
• C. A loose sac with no endocrine function
• D. A gland that produces insulin for glucose regulation

Answer: (B)

The placenta is best understood as the interface between mother and fetus that supplies nutrients, removes wastes, enables gas exchange, and acts as an endocrine organ. It forms from fetal chorionic tissue and maternal decidua basalis and begins functioning early in gestation, secreting hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to maintain the pregnancy, along with other hormones like progesterone, estrogen, and placental lactogen to support the uterine environment and fetal needs. It isn’t a muscle responsible for labor contractions, nor is it simply a nonfunctional sac, and it isn’t a gland that makes insulin—the latter is produced by the pancreas; the placenta’s hormonal role centers on hCG and other placenta-derived hormones that regulate pregnancy.

The placenta is best understood as the interface between mother and fetus that supplies nutrients, removes wastes, enables gas exchange, and acts as an endocrine organ. It forms from fetal chorionic tissue and maternal decidua basalis and begins functioning early in gestation, secreting hormones such as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to maintain the pregnancy, along with other hormones like progesterone, estrogen, and placental lactogen to support the uterine environment and fetal needs. It isn’t a muscle responsible for labor contractions, nor is it simply a nonfunctional sac, and it isn’t a gland that makes insulin—the latter is produced by the pancreas; the placenta’s hormonal role centers on hCG and other placenta-derived hormones that regulate pregnancy.