Umbilical cord diameter. This diameter decreases rapidly within the placenta. The fully patent umbilical artery has two main layers: an outer layer consisting of circularly arranged smooth muscle cells and an inner layer which shows rather irregularly and loosely arranged cells embedded in abundant ground substance staining metachromatic. The smooth muscle cells of the layer are rather poorly differentiated, contain only a few tiny myofilaments and are thereby unlikely to contribute actively to the process of post-natal closure. The umbilical cord contains Wharton's jelly, a gelatinous substance made largely from mucopolysaccharides which protects the blood vessels inside. It contains one vein, which
Souffle (heart sound) the rush of blood through the dilated vessels of the uterus. On auscultation, uterine souffle may often be confused with funic souffle, which is a sharp, whistling sound that is synchronous with the pulse of the foetus. Therefore, the maternal pulse must be palpated simultaneously in order to confirm uterine souffle. Uterine souffle is considered as a probable objective sign of pregnancy. Funic souffle (also known as funicular or fetal souffle), is a blowing sound heard in synch with fetal heart sounds, and may originate from the umbilical cord. It has also been described as a sharp, whistling sound that