A nursing student is preparing a prenatal class on the process of fetal circulation.
Test Answer
The nursing instructor asks the student specifically to describe the process through the umbilical cord. Which of the following statements from the student is correct? 1. “The one artery carries freshly oxygenated blood and nutrient-rick blood back from the placenta to the fetus.” 2. “The two arteries carry freshly oxygenated blood back from the placenta to the fetus.” 3. “The two arteries in the umbilical cord carry deoxygenated blood and waste products away from the fetus to the placenta.” 4. “The two veins in the umbilical cord carry blood that is high in carbon dioxide and other waste products away from the fetus to the placenta.”
Answer:
3. “The two arteries in the umbilical cord carry deoxygenated blood and waste products away from the fetus to the placenta.”
Rational: Blood pumped by the embryo’s heart leaves the embryo through two umbilical arteries. When oxygenated, the blood is returned by one umbilical vein.
