Intervillous space
Primary chorionic villi. Diagrammatic.
Secondary chorionic villi. Diagrammatic.
Gray's	subject #12 59
Days	24

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article with a good introductory style. (October 2009)

As a brief introduction, "inter" means between, and "villous" means vessels, so the intervillous space is the "space between the vessels" of the mother and the embryo.

The trophoblast, which is a collection of cells that invades the maternal endometrium to gain access to nutrition for the fetus, proliferates rapidly and forms a network of branching processes which cover the entire embryo and invade and destroy the maternal tissues. With this physiologic destructive process, the maternal blood vessels of the endometrium are opened, with the result that the spaces in the trophoblastic network are filled with maternal blood; these spaces communicate freely with one another and become greatly distended and form the intervillous space from which the fetus gains nutrition.

Maternal arteries and veins directly enter the intervillous space after 8 weeks gestation, and the intervillous space will contain about a unit of blood (400-500 mL). Much of this blood is returned to the mother with normal uterine contractions; thus, when a woman has a cesarean section, she is liable to lose more blood than a woman who has a vaginal delivery, as the blood from the intervillous space is not pushed back toward her body during such a delivery.

[edit] External links

• Histology at BU 19902loa

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.

v • d • e Developmental biology > Human embryogenesis (development of embryo) and development of fetus First three weeks Week 1 Fertilization · Egg activation · Zygote · Cleavage · Morula · Blastula (Blastomere) · Blastocyst · Inner cell mass Week 2 (Bilaminar) Hypoblast · Epiblast Week 3 (Trilaminar) Germ layers Archenteron/Primitive streak (Primitive pit, Primitive knot/Blastopore, Primitive groove) · Gastrula/Gastrulation · Regional specification Ectoderm Surface ectoderm · Neuroectoderm · Somatopleure · Neurulation · Neural crest Endoderm Splanchnopleure Mesoderm Chorda- · Paraxial (Somite/Somitomere/Sclerotome/Myotome/Dermatome) · Intermediate · Lateral plate (Intraembryonic coelom, Splanchnopleure/Somatopleure) Extraembryonic/ uterus Trophoblast (Cytotrophoblast, Syncytiotrophoblast) Blastocoele · Yolk sack/exocoelomic cavity · Heuser's membrane · Extraembryonic coelom · Vitelline duct Umbilical cord (Umbilical artery, Umbilical vein, Wharton's jelly) · Allantois Placenta · Decidua (Decidual cells) · Chorionic villi/Intervillous space · Gestational sac (Amnion/Amniotic sac/Amniotic cavity, Chorion) Histogenesis Programmed cell death (Apoptosis) · Stem cells · Germ line development Organogenesis Limb development: Limb bud · Apical ectodermal ridge/AER other structures: Eye development · Cutaneous structure development · Heart development · Development of the urinary and reproductive organs (Some dates are approximate—see Carnegie stages and a timeline.)

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