A flexible tube connecting the developing fetus to the placenta, carrying blood between the two.
Structure
The cord contains three vessels embedded in a gelatinous matrix called Wharton jelly: two umbilical arteries carrying deoxygenated blood from the fetus and one umbilical vein returning oxygenated blood from the placenta.
Function
The single vein supplies the fetus, while the two arteries return blood for re-oxygenation in the placenta. After birth the vessels constrict and the cord is clamped and cut.
Clinical note
The remnant of the umbilical vein becomes the round ligament of the liver in adults, while the arteries persist as the medial umbilical ligaments.
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