Which structure connects the fetus to the placenta?

• A. Placenta
• B. Amniotic Sac
• C. Umbilical Cord
• D. Amniotic Fluid

Answer: (C)

The structure that connects the fetus to the placenta is the umbilical cord. It is a flexible conduit containing fetal blood vessels—two arteries and one vein—surrounded by Wharton’s jelly, linking the fetus to the placenta. Through these vessels, deoxygenated blood and waste exit the fetus to the placenta, while oxygenated blood and nutrients return from the placenta to the fetus. The placenta itself is the site where exchange occurs between fetal and maternal blood, but the actual physical connection between fetus and placenta is provided by the umbilical cord. The amniotic sac and amniotic fluid surround the fetus but do not serve as a linking conduit.