Skip to content
umbilical cord

File:Umbilicalcord.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ172563· pop 77· linked from 548 articles

umbilical cord

Sign in to save

Also known as navel string, birth cord, funiculus umbilicalis, chorda umbilicalis, belly cord

conduit between embryo/fetus and the placenta

AI overview

The umbilical cord is the tube-like structure that connects a developing baby to the placenta during pregnancy. It carries nutrients and oxygen from the mother to the fetus and removes waste products, making it essential for the baby's growth and survival before birth.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

55,167 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image
Umbilicalcord.jpg
Show 6 more facts
Commons category
Umbilical cord
Commons gallery
Umbilical cord
native label
funiculus umbilicalis
substrate of
stem cell
arterial supply
umbilical artery
venous drainage
umbilical vein
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~23 min read

Encyclopedic overview

In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or funiculus umbilicalis) is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologically and genetically part of the fetus and (in humans) normally contains two arteries (the umbilical arteries) and one vein (the umbilical vein), buried within Wharton's jelly. The umbilical vein supplies the fetus with oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood from the placenta. Conversely, the fetal heart pumps low-oxygen, nutrient-depleted blood through the umbilical arteries back to the placenta.

Structure and development

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “umbilical cord” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (12)