Question

◦ Describe fetal circulation and the structures associated with fetal circulation that remain in the body after birth.

Answer 1

FETAL CIRCULATION:

ANSWER: Fetal circulation occurs when the baby is in the mother womb. So it can't able to do their functions fully when compare to other human body.

so there will little openings/ shunt in the fetal heart to easy up the circulation of the fetal.

First the supply to the fetal from the mother will get by the placenta. It is the organ which gives the supplies to the fetal from the mother. Placenta will connected to the umbilical cord of the fetal.

umblical cord - umbilical cord has umbilical vein which supplies the oxygenated blood from the mother to the fetal. And umbilical cord has pair of two arteries which will get the deoxygenated blood from the fetal body and send it the placenta.

circulation: First the oxygenated blood from the mother(placenta) goes to through umbilical vein it will reaches the liver and supply it and then it will connected to the inferior vena cava. Ductus venosus connects the liver and the inferior vena cava.

Then the blood reaches the Right atrium of the fetal heart. In normal human heart The blood from the right atrium directly goes to the Right ventricle but in fetal circulation there will be a opening between the Right atrium and the left atrium. The opening is named as Foramen ovale. So the blood in the Right atrium will goes to the left atrium of the heart through the forearm ovale. On the same time the blood from the right atrium will goes to the Right ventricle via tricuspid valve.

The blood in the left atrium which comes from the Right atrium via foramen ovale will goes to the Left ventricle and further goes to the aorta and supplies the fetal body with oxygenated blood.

On the other hand the blood from the Right atrium which goes to the Right ventricle will reaches the pulmonary arteries. And there will a shunt/opening between the pulmonary artery and the aorta Usually There will not be opening in the normal human body. The opening is named as Ductus arteriosus.

The blood in the pulmonary artery goes to aorta through the ductus arteriosus will supply the fetal body with oxygenated blood.

Finally the deoxygenated blood in the fetal body will carried out by the veins and then goes to the pairs of umbilical arteries and reaches the placenta.

The foramen ovale and ductus arteriosus will be closed after the birth of the child.