Placenta is Latin for cake, Greek for flat, slab-like, referring to it's round, flat appearance in humans. The placenta is the organ that connects the fetus to the uterine wall allowing the fetus to receive needed nutrients, eliminate waste, and gas exchange through the mothers blood supply. The placenta develops from the same egg and sperm cells that form the fetus. It functions as a
. fetomaternal organ with two parts, the maternal part and the fetal part. It averages 9 inches in length, 0.8-1 inch thick and weighs about 1 pound. It connects to the fetus by the umbilical cord which has 2 veins and 1 artery.
