The key difference between placenta and uterus is that the placenta is the spongy disk-like muscular organ that provides nutrients from maternal blood to fetal blood and transports waste products from fetal blood to maternal blood while the uterus also called as the womb is the female reproductive organ where a fertilized egg or the fetus develops.
Pregnancy is an adorable and sweet thing that a married woman can experience. During the pregnancy period, she carries a developing embryo or the fetus in her womb for approximately 10 months. It is time a woman lives with great happiness and a desire to see her baby in good health. The uterus is the place where a fertilized egg establishes and starts to develop into a child. On the other hand, the placenta and umbilical cord ensure the survival of the infant inside the uterus.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Placenta
3. What is Uterus
4. Similarities Between Placenta and Uterus
5. Side by Side Comparison – Placenta vs Uterus in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Placenta?
Placenta is one of the two lifelines that ensures the survival of an infant within the mothers’ womb. It develops during the first week of pregnancy. And this is a disk-like a vascular organ in mammals, which transport oxygen and nutrients from the mother to the growing fetus. The placenta is an extremely important organ during the pregnancy. Moroever, the survival of the fetus mainly depends on this organ and the umbilical cord that links the placenta and the fetus. Placenta develops attached to the uterine wall. It consists of two types of cells; mother cells and fetus cells.
Figure 01: Placenta
Maternal blood and fetal blood closely contact in the placenta. During this contact, the exchange of things occurs (nutrients and oxygen from the maternal blood to fetal blood and wastes from fetal blood to maternal blood without mixing). Apart from this, the placenta produces pregnancy-related hormones including chronic human gonadotropin (hCG), estrogen, and progesterone. Furthermore, the placenta protects the fetus from toxic substances throughout the pregnancy period. During labour, since the job of the placenta is completed, it releases from the uterus to out form the mother.
What is Uterus?
Uterus is a female reproductive organ in which the fertilized egg develops into a child until birth. It is also known as the womb. This is a small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in the pelvis area of a woman. There are four regions in the uterus namely fundus, corpus, cervix and the cervical canal.
Figure 02: Uterus
Uterus is a hormone responsive organ. Therefore, it prevents the fetus from physical damages, provides nutrients, facilitates waste removal from the fetus and keeps the environment clean. Uterine wall has three muscle layers; perimetrium, myometrium and endometrium. These layers change often.
What are the Similarities Between Placenta and Uterus?
- Both are muscular organs.
- They are unique to females.
- Placenta and Uterus are important organs in females during the pregnancy.
- They ensure the survival of the fetus until
- Placenta is connected to uterine
What is the Difference Between Placenta and Uterus?
Placenta and uterus are two important structures of a woman. Placenta is a disk-shaped organ while the uterus is a pear-shaped organ. Therefore, the placenta facilitates the exchange of nutrients and oxygen from mother to fetus and waste from fetus to mother.
The below infographic presents more details on the difference between placenta and uterus in tabular form.
Summary – Placenta vs Uterus
Placenta is the organ of interchange between mother and fetus. It facilitates the uptake of nutrients and oxygen from maternal blood to fetal blood and eliminates waste from fetal blood to maternal blood. The uterus is one of the female reproductive organs in which the young are conceived and develop until birth. This is the difference between placenta and uterus. These two organs; the placenta and the uterus, are very important organs in females during the pregnancy.
Reference:
1.“Placenta.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Aug. 2018. Available here
Image Courtesy:
1.”Placenta” by Magnus Manske (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2.”Gray1167″By Henry Vandyke Carter (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia