RT Book, Section A1 Alenezi, Hadeel A1 El-Chaâr, Darine A2 Posner, Glenn D. A2 Black, Amanda Y. A2 Jones, Griffith A2 El-Chaâr, Darine SR Print(0) ID 1193313981 T1 The Umbilical Cord T2 Oxorn-Foote Human Labor & Birth, 7e YR 2022 FD 2022 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781260019414 LK obgyn.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1193313981 RD 2024/10/09 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.