Tiny blood clots help guide blood flow as placenta develops, mouse study finds

During pregnancy, the human embryo is initially supplied with nutrients through the yolk sac; later, the placenta takes over this role. It consists of maternal and embryonic tissue, through whose blood vessels the mother's blood flows. An interdisciplinary research team at Hannover Medical School (MHH) has demonstrated in a mouse model that tiny, localized blood clots at the interface between maternal and embryonic tissue play an important regulatory role during placental development.

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