placenta

Definitions

• (anatomy) A vascular organ in mammals, except monotremes and marsupials, present only in the female during gestation. It supplies food and oxygen from the mother to the foetus, and passes back waste. It is implanted in the wall of the uterus and links to the foetus through the umbilical cord. It is expelled after birth.
• (botany) In flowering plants, the part of the ovary where ovules develop; in non-flowering plants where the spores develop.