TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - The Umbilical Cord A1 - Alenezi, Hadeel A1 - El-Chaâr, Darine A2 - Posner, Glenn D. A2 - Black, Amanda Y. A2 - Jones, Griffith A2 - El-Chaâr, Darine PY - 2022 T2 - Oxorn-Foote Human Labor & Birth, 7e AB - The umbilical cord is the lifeline that connects the fetus to the placenta providing life support through passage of nutrients, oxygen, and waste products to and from the fetus. It consists of three vessels, two arteries, and a vein, running in a spiral arrangement with a length of about 50 to 60 cm at term. It is lined on the inside with the thick myxomatous Wharton jelly and covered on the outside by a single layer of amnion providing protection to the cord from direct compression, kinking, and traction. The circulation in the umbilical cord is the reverse of the adult in that the vein carries the oxygenated blood to the fetus, and the arteries bring venous blood back to the placenta. Normally, the cord inserts into the center of the placenta. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - obgyn.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1193313981 ER -