Connections between maternal and fetal tissues

Placental tissue structure

Maternal and fetal tissues form two units that are closely bound together at the placental level.

• The fetal part of the placenta is made up of the chorionic plate with its placental villi, the cytotrophoblast layer and the intervillous spaces. The chorionic plate (great part of the placenta on the fetal side) consists of the amnion, the extra-embryonic mesenchyma, the cytotrophoblast and the syncytiotrophoblast.
• The basal plate, the peripheral region of the placenta on the maternal side that is in contact with the uterine wall, is made up of two tissues: embryonic tissue (cytotrophoblast, syncytiotrophoblast), on the one side, and of maternal tissue (decidua basalis) on the other.

The maternal side of the placenta is made up of the decidua basalis, uterine vessels and glands.