What do umbilical arteries become after birth

Introduction The umbilical cord provides the pathway for unhindered blood transport from the placenta to the foetus and vice versa. Umbilical cord embryology The rudimentary umbilical cord is formed during the 4th to 8th weeks of gestation calculated from the first day of the last menstrual cycle by the expanding amnion enveloping tissue from the body stalk, the omphalomesenteric duct and the umbilical coelom.

Umbilical cord structure The fully developed umbilical cord normally contains two umbilical arteries, one umbilical vein, the remnant of the allantois all embedded in Wharton's jelly and surrounded by a single layer of amnion 10 , 11 as shown in Figure 1 , 12 and Figure 2a. Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Foetal venous circulation The foetal venous system develops from three embryological paired veins; the vitelline veins from the yolk sac, the umbilical veins from the chorion and the cardinal veins from the embryo.

Figure 4. Mechanisms of blood flow in the umbilical cord vein The placenta provides a large volume of blood awaiting transportation to the foetus. Movement of oxygenated blood from the placenta to the foetus occurs by the following methods: 1. Conclusion The umbilical cord normally contains two umbilical arteries, a single umbilical vein, an obliterated allantois duct, all surrounded by Wharton's jelly and contained within an outer layer of amnion.

Acknowledgements I am indebted to my colleagues and supervisors for their constructive review of this article. References 1. Umbilical venous flow in normal and complicated pregnancy. Ultrasound Med Biol ; 10 3 : — The umbilical cord. Cochard LR. Netter's Atlas of Human Embryology. New Jersey: Icon Learning Systems; Standring S, ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; Blackburn ST. Louis: Sanders Elsevier; Callen PW. Ultrasonography in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company; Larsen WJ.

Human Embryology. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone; Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier; Imaging of the umbilicus and periumbilical region. Radiographics ; 18 2 : — Altas of microscopic anatomy — a functional approach. Bioengineering aspects of the umbilical cord. It's then pumped into the first part of the large artery coming from the heart the ascending aorta.

From the aorta, the oxygen-rich blood is sent to the brain and to the heart muscle itself. Blood is also sent to the lower body. Blood returning to the heart from the fetal body contains carbon dioxide and waste products as it enters the right atrium. It flows down into the right ventricle, where it normally would be sent to the lungs to be oxygenated.

Instead, it bypasses the lungs and flows through the ductus arteriosus into the descending aorta, which connects to the umbilical arteries. From there, blood flows back into the placenta. The unborn baby is connected to the placenta by the umbilical cord. Waste products and carbon dioxide from the baby are sent back through the umbilical cord blood vessels and placenta to the mother's circulation to be eliminated. While still in the uterus, the baby's lungs aren't being used.

Circulating blood bypasses the lungs and liver by flowing in different pathways and through special openings called shunts. Oxygen and nutrients from the mother's blood are transferred across the placenta to the fetus through the umbilical cord. There it moves through a shunt called the ductus venosus. This allows some of the blood to go to the liver. To ensure the site functions as intended, please upgrade your browser.

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