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GCSE Biology · key term
A temporary organ attached to the wall of the uterus where substances are exchanged between the pregnant person's blood and the developing foetus.
Used by AQA
Specification 4.2.2.6 · Paper 1
Revise: Effects of Lifestyle on Unborn BabiesThe placenta, attached to the wall of the uterus and connected to the foetus by the umbilical cord, allows useful substances to pass from the pregnant person's blood towards the foetus. Waste substances such as carbon dioxide pass in the opposite direction.
Link each substance to a route and an effect: it enters the pregnant person's blood, crosses the placenta and interferes with foetal development.
Do not write that the placenta blocks all harmful substances or that maternal and foetal blood mix directly.
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