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Why does the blood of an unborn baby bypass it's lungs until after birth?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
In all mammals, the lungs oxygenate blood through gas exchange during respiration: breathing. Unborn babies float in amniotic fluid and so could not inhale and exhale anymore than you could underwater. Because they are not needed, the lungs mature relatively late in pregnancy. Although both baby and mother maintain discrete circulation, the placenta allows the transfer of oxygen as well as nutrients to the baby to support its growth and development.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoSince the lungs do not inhale air and provide oxygen prior to birth, there is no benefit to the movement of blood through the lungs. Shortly after birth, this bypass closes.
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Why does the blood of unborn baby bypass its lungs until after birth?
In all mammals, the lungs oxygenate blood through gas exchange during respiration: breathing. Unborn babies float in amniotic fluid and so could not inhale and exhale anymore than you could underwater. Because they are not needed, the lungs mature relatively late in pregnancy. Although both baby and mother maintain discrete circulation, the placenta allows the transfer of oxygen as well as nutrients to the baby to support its growth and development.
Why is it important that a vessel allows most of the blood to bypass the lungs?
So the lungs may have the right material to produce oxygen it needs to function correctly.
Why does the arteriosus close off at birth?
The ductus arteriosus allows blood to pass around the lungs while the baby is in utero. After birth, it closes off so the lungs can oxygenate the blood.
What happens if the ductus arteriosus does not fully close after birth?
The infant will have abnormal blood flow between the aorta and pulmonary artery (those are the two major blood vessels in the heart). The ductus arteriosus is not needed after birth, since the lungs now fill with air (before birth, the pulmonary artery supplied blood to the lungs and aorta to be sent to the rest of the body).
What is the foramen ovale and what is its fate after birth?
That is very good question! You get the oxygenated blood from the placenta via umbilical vein in case of the fetus. This vein enters the liver of the fetus. The blood then goes to right atrium of the fetus. The lungs are closed in the fetus. So the blood goes to left atrium through foramen ovale to bypass the pulmonary circulation of the fetus. After the birth of the baby, baby takes the first breath. The lungs get inflated. Blood starts to flow via lungs. This closes the foramen ovale. The marking remains there on the wall between both the atria.
What does Foramen ovale bypass?
A Patent (Open) Foramen Ovale bypasses the lungs by short circuiting blood flow from the right atrium to the left atrium.
What is the function of the forarm ovale?
In the fetus blood flow to the lungs doesnt occur in nearly as greater volume as fetuses are suspended in fluid and dont breathe. The foramen ovale acts to shunt (move) blood into the left atrium from the right atrium, as the blood in the RA doesnt need to go to the lungs and would be of much better use going into the LA and into systemic circulation... so the foramen ovale means blood can bypass the lungs, as they are not of use in the fetus. Due to pressure changes (when the lungs inflate) at birth the foramen ovale shuts and fibroses over.
The function of lungs?
It is part of the reproductive system. it is the opening to the birth canal
What is the structure in the fetus that allows blood to bypass the lungs?
An valvular hole in the interatrial septum called the foramen ovale.
What does ductus arteriosus bypass?
Bypass the pulmonary circulation as the fetus's lungs have not yet opened until after birth. Once the baby is delivered and takes its first breath, the ductus arteriosus is converted to the ligamentum arteriosum.
How does fetal circulation differ from the circulation pattern after birth?
In fetal circulation, the placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, so the lungs are not used for oxygen exchange - instead, a bypass called the ductus arteriosus shunts blood away from the lungs. After birth, the lungs take over oxygen exchange, the ductus arteriosus closes, and the foramen ovale between the atria closes, redirecting blood flow through the heart to support pulmonary circulation.
What is pulomanary?
It is a vessel connectthat connects the heart to the lungs. The pulmonary artery takes blood from the heart to the lungs and the pulmonary vein takes blood from the lungs to the heart. The pulmonary vessels are the only blood vessels in the body after birth that have reversed blood flow. The pulmonary arteries actually carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs and the pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood to the heart.
