placenta

[ pluh-sen-tuh ]

noun

, plural pla·cen·tas, pla·cen·tae [pl, uh, -, sen, -tee].

1. Anatomy, Zoology. the organ in most mammals, formed in the lining of the uterus by the union of the uterine mucous membrane with the membranes of the fetus, that provides for the nourishment of the fetus and the elimination of its waste products.
2. Botany.
   1. the part of the ovary of flowering plants that bears the ovules.
   2. (in ferns and related plants) the tissue giving rise to sporangia.

placenta

/ pləˈsɛntə /

noun

1. the vascular organ formed in the uterus during pregnancy, consisting of both maternal and embryonic tissues and providing oxygen and nutrients for the fetus and transfer of waste products from the fetal to the maternal blood circulation See also afterbirth
2. the corresponding organ or part in certain mammals
3. botany
   1. the part of the ovary of flowering plants to which the ovules are attached
   2. the mass of tissue in nonflowering plants that bears the sporangia or spores

placenta

/ plə-sĕn′tə /

1. The sac-shaped organ that attaches the embryo or fetus to the uterus during pregnancy in most mammals. Blood flows between mother and fetus through the placenta, supplying oxygen and nutrients to the fetus and carrying away fetal waste products. The placenta is expelled after birth.
2. The part of the ovary of a flowering plant to which the ovules are attached. In a green pepper, for example, the whitish tissue to which the seeds are attached is the placenta.

placenta

1. An organ that forms in the uterus after the implantation of a zygote . The placenta moves nourishment from the mother's blood to the embryo or fetus ; it also sends the embryo or fetus's waste products into the mother's blood to be disposed of by the mother's excretory system . The embryo or fetus is attached to the placenta by the umbilical cord . After birth, the placenta separates from the uterus and is pushed out of the mother's body.

Other Words From

• pla·cental plac·en·tar·y [plas, -, uh, n-ter-ee, pl, uh, -, sen, -t, uh, -ree], adjective
• inter·pla·cental adjective
• nonpla·cental adjective
• prepla·cental adjective
• subpla·centa noun plural subplacentas subplacentae
• subpla·cental adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of placenta¹

First recorded in 1670–80; from New Latin: “something having a flat, circular form,” Latin: “cake,” from Greek plakóenta, accusative of plakóeis “flat cake,” derivative of pláx (stem plak- ) “flat”

Word History and Origins

Origin of placenta¹

C17: via Latin from Greek plakoeis flat cake, from plax flat

Example Sentences

Thus, the false narrative goes, the immune system will not be able to differentiate between the two and will create antibodies that interfere with proper development of the placenta.

From Quartz

Another protein similar to gag, dubbed PEG10, can grab onto RNA and also form bubbly spaceships to help develop the placenta and aid reproduction.

From Singularity Hub 

Some people have confused these spike proteins with a completely different kind of protein called syncytin-1, which is part of placenta formation during pregnancy.

From FiveThirtyEight

Bleeding heavily from what she later learned was a tear between her uterus and her baby’s placenta, Benitez later bargained with her doctors.

From ProPublica

All the vaccines have that material, the placenta and the embryos.

From Washington Post

Nothing much to use in cleaning up the baby and his mother after the birth, no place to dispose of the placenta.

From The Daily Beast

Usually, the disease resolves with the birth of the baby and placenta.

From The Daily Beast

It normally occurs during weeks six and eight of pregnancy, when the placenta takes over production of hormones from the ovaries.

From The Daily Beast

You get the biting of the placenta and you get Renesmee biting her without necessarily seeing it.

From The Daily Beast

I had to tell her she had a condition with her placenta that made abortion risky.

From The Daily Beast

Dugung nagpúgul sa inunlan, Placenta filled with a big clot of blood.

From Project Gutenberg

Finally, some persons make use of the method of corrosion to prepare and preserve the placenta.

From Project Gutenberg

They pass up the sides of the bladder towards the navel, enter the sheath of the cord, and so reach the placenta.

From Project Gutenberg

The diameter of the placenta is about six inches, and its thickness about one inch and a half.

From Project Gutenberg

Some have even averred that the Placenta is not required at all, to supply nourishment, but is merely a purifying organ.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• sheath
• sheet