The placenta is a transient fetomaternal organ that develops during pregnancy to mediate physiological exchange between mother and fetus, performing the respiratory, nutritive, excretory, immunological, and endocrine functions the developing fetus cannot yet sustain. It forms from trophoblast-derived chorionic tissu…
The placenta is a transient fetomaternal organ that develops during pregnancy to mediate physiological exchange between mother and fetus, performing the respiratory, nutritive, excretory, immunological, and endocrine functions the developing fetus cannot yet sustain. It forms from trophoblast-derived chorionic tissue interfacing with the maternal decidua, establishing the intervillous space where maternal and fetal circulations are brought into close apposition without direct mixing, enabling transfer of oxygen and nutrients and removal of metabolic waste across the placental barrier. The placenta also secretes hormones, including human chorionic gonadotropin, progesterone, and placental lactogen, that maintain pregnancy and prepare for parturition. Abnormalities of placentation, including placenta previa and the morbidly adherent spectrum such as placenta percreta, carry substantial obstetric risk. Research relevant to this topic addresses placenta previa with prior caesarean delivery, anatomical variants of the placenta and their relation to neonatal outcome, placenta percreta in a non-communicating uterine horn, retained placenta and postpartum reproductive performance, umbilical cord anatomy and neonatal outcome, and the signaling underlying decidualization and uterine receptivity. The journal publishes peer-reviewed research on placental development, structure, and pathology, and on the maternal-fetal interface across human and comparative obstetric and reproductive contexts.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 149 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Placenta, linking to each citing work.