Singapore Cord Blood Bank services, but retain ownership over the use of their cord blood. Cord blood is the blood that circulates through the umbilical cord from the foetus to the placenta. After delivery, the placenta is almost always thrown away. Yet this humble umbilical cord has become a life saving and precious commodity, because cord blood is rich in blood stem cells. Blood stem cells are young or immature cells that can transform into other forms of essential blood cell types (pluripotent), such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The use of blood stem cells has emerged as a potentially
Umbilical ring Umbilical ring The umbilical ring is a dense fibrous ring surrounding the umbilicus at birth. At about the sixth week of embryological development, the midgut herniates through the umbilical ring; six weeks later it returns to the abdominal cavity and rotates around the superior mesenteric artery. Dense embryonic connective tissue encircles the attachment of the umbilical cord. It forms an umbilical ring of mesodermal condensation surrounding the coelomic portal, and is present in the 16 mm. embryo, but more emphatically so in the 23 mm. embryo. The compact tissue first appears in the stalk mesoderm, situated superficial to the allantoic