Placental Blood Flow
Placental Blood Flow - Related Videos
03:38
Developing a Cerebral Blood Flow Atlas for Blood Flow Mapping
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2025
Source: Tan, Z., et al., Construction and Application of Cerebral Functional Region-Based Cerebral Blood Flow Atlas Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Arterial Spin Labeling. J. Vis. Exp. (2024).This video demonstrates the method to construct a cerebral blood flow atlas by integrating magnetic resonance imaging or MRI-arterial spin labeling data with segmented brain regions, visualizing blood flow patterns, and quantifying flow levels across functional areas.
12:17
The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo
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Cited by 18 •
2017
We present a detailed method to study human placental physiology in vivo at term. The method combines blood sampling from the incoming and outgoing vessels on the maternal and fetal sides of the placenta with ultrasound measurements of volume blood flow and placental tissue sampling.
01:29
Blood Flow
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2025
Blood is pumped by the heart into the aorta, the largest artery in the body, and then into increasingly smaller arteries, arterioles, and capillaries. The velocity of blood flow decreases with increased cross-sectional blood vessel area. As blood returns to the heart through venules and veins, its velocity increases. The movement of blood is encouraged by smooth muscle in the vessel walls, the movement of skeletal muscle surrounding the vessels, and one-way valves that prevent backflow. Slow...
08:08
Determination of the Transport Rate of Xenobiotics and Nanomaterials Across the Placenta using the ex vivo Human Placental Perfusion Model
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Cited by 56 •
2013
The ex vivo dual recirculating human placental perfusion model can be used to investigate the transfer of xenobiotics and nanoparticles across the human placenta. In this video protocol we describe the equipment and techniques required for a successful execution of a placenta perfusion.
05:22
Ex vivo Culture of Human Placental Explants for the Study of Viral Transmission Across the Maternal-Fetal Interface
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2025
This protocol describes the preparation of human placental tissue explants cultured at an air-liquid interface for the study of viral infections.
FAQs
Placental blood flow depends on two linked circulations: uteroplacental perfusion on the maternal side and fetoplacental perfusion on the fetal side. Maternal spiral arteries deliver blood to the intervillous space, while fetal blood travels through umbilical vessels and placental capillaries. Effective exchange therefore requires adequate flow in both systems, not simply increased supply from one side.
The placental barrier keeps maternal and fetal blood supplies separate while allowing oxygen, glucose, and other substances to cross into fetal capillaries. This arrangement permits exchange without direct mixing, so delivery depends on movement across the barrier rather than contact between the two blood supplies. Its function is therefore central to maintaining fetal access to maternal resources.
Changes in vascular resistance can modify how readily blood reaches exchange regions, while placental development changes the circulation over time. Consequently, placental blood flow is not a fixed process: its adequacy reflects both resistance within the vascular pathways and the developmental state of the placenta. These variables help explain why exchange capacity can change during gestation.
Placental blood flow is relevant to neuroscience because it determines the conditions under which oxygen and glucose can reach the fetal circulation. If perfusion is insufficient, prenatal oxygen or nutrient insufficiency may influence fetal brain growth and neurodevelopment. Studying this relationship also provides context for investigating possible links between placental function and later neurological health.
When either maternal-side or fetal-side perfusion is inadequate, exchange may not provide the fetal circulation with sufficient oxygen or nutrients. The concern is therefore broader than a local placental change: reduced delivery can create prenatal insufficiency relevant to fetal brain growth and neurodevelopment. This distinction helps researchers connect placental circulation with developmental rather than purely vascular outcomes.
A useful framework considers placental circulation as an interface between maternal vascular delivery, fetal circulation, and developing neural tissue. Studies can relate uteroplacental and fetoplacental perfusion to oxygen and nutrient exchange, then examine implications for fetal brain growth, neurodevelopment, and later neurological health. This keeps placental findings connected to both immediate exchange and longer-term outcomes.