What does racket-shaped placenta mean?

First of all, we need to make it clear that the placenta is not where the baby lives in the mother's body. The baby grows and develops inside the mother's womb. The placenta is an important place that provides nutrition to the baby. The baby relies on absorbing nutrition from the placenta. The most amazing thing about the placenta is that it is a traditional Chinese medicine that grows inside the body. The shape of each baby's placenta is different, so what does a racket-shaped placenta mean?

The placenta is a transitional organ in mammals that is formed by the embryo's embryonic membrane and the mother's endometrium during pregnancy and is used to exchange substances between mother and child. The fetus develops in the uterus and relies on the placenta to obtain nutrition from the mother, while both parties maintain independence. From this, we can see how important the placenta is to the fetus, which is why expectant fathers and mothers are so concerned about this knowledge. Here, let's talk about the racket-shaped placenta.

Function:

1. Material exchange function

Gas exchange includes oxygen exchange and carbon dioxide exchange; nutrient supply includes all nutrients needed for fetal development; and elimination of metabolic products in the fetus.

2. Defense function

Although the barrier function of the placenta is extremely limited, it does have a certain barrier function against some bacteria, pathogens and drugs.

3. Synthesis function

Such as human chorionic gonadotropin, human placental lactogen, estrogen, progesterone, uterine tocinase, thermostable alkaline phosphatase, cytokines and growth factors.

4. Immune function

The specific mechanism by which the mother can accept and not reject the fetus is still unclear.

5. Other features

( 1) Storage function. For example, in the early stages of pregnancy, the placenta grows very quickly. A large amount of nutrients (protein, glycogen, calcium, iron, etc.) are stored in the placental cells to meet the needs of fetal growth.

(2) Metabolic regulation function. The placenta has a function equivalent to that of the liver. It not only stores nutrients but also has a regulatory effect. In the later stages of development, the fetal liver gradually grows and develops fully, and the metabolic regulatory function of the placenta gradually decreases and even disappears. The placenta can also transform and synthesize some substances, perform multiple functions of the digestive tract, lungs, kidneys, liver and endocrine glands, and regulate these functions to protect the fetus and mother so that the pregnancy proceeds smoothly.

As the name suggests, the shape of the placenta looks like a racket. A normal placenta is round or oval, and the umbilical cord is attached to the fetal surface of the placenta, between the edge and the center. If the umbilical cord is attached to the edge of the placenta, it resembles a racket, which is called a racket placenta. Racket-shaped placenta is relatively rare, with an incidence of 0.1% to 15%. It is an abnormal umbilical cord attachment and is difficult to diagnose before the placenta is delivered. The racket-shaped placenta itself has no clinical importance. During delivery, the attachment of the umbilical cord edge generally does not affect the life of the mother and fetus and is discovered during postpartum placental examination. However, if the umbilical cord attachment point is just at the lower edge of the placenta near the cervix, it may be compressed by the fetal presenting part, causing fetal distress or even death.