R epubli c of t he P hil i ppi nes

CE B U TEC HNOLOG IC AL U NIVE R SITY

Mai n Camp u s
i n consort i um wi t h
CE B UC ITYME D IC ALC E NTE R -C OLLEG E OF NU R SING
N. Bacalso Avenue corner Panganiban Street, Cebu City, Cebu, 6000 Philippines
Tel. Nos. +63-032 – 3161987 or 3165128
Email address: ctuccmc_cn@ymail.com

WRITTEN OUTPUT
LEVEL II CCMC-CN
AY 2020-2021

FETAL CIRCULATION

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

 The students will be able to understand fetal circulation.

 The students will be able to enumerate fetal circulation process and different linkages.
 The students will be able to summarize the whole fetal circulation process with
comprehension.

OBJECTIVES:

 To provide visual representation of Fetal Circulation.

 To provide inputs and knowledge of what is Fetal Circulation.
 To provide information and proper discussion with it linkages and association of
different organs and to what is the main purpose of such.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:

The fetal heart initiates at 22 days; this indicates the initiation of fetal circulation. Gas
exchange initially takes place in the yolk sac until the placenta entirely takes over. This
transition occurs around 10 weeks gestation. Maternal oxygenated blood mixes with placental
blood which is low in oxygen before heading out to the fetus. Due to this mixing, the fetus is
relatively hypoxic when compared to maternal, arterial blood.

The fetal circulatory system uses two -- right to left shunts, which are small passages that
direct blood that needs to be oxygenated. The purpose of these shunts is to bypass certain
body parts in particular, the lungs and liver that is not fully developed while the fetus is still
in the womb. The shunts that bypass the lungs are called the foramen ovale, which moves
blood from the right atrium of the heart to the left atrium, and the ductus arteriosus, which
moves blood from the pulmonary artery to the aorta. Oxygen and nutrients from the mother's
blood are transferred across the placenta to the fetus. The enriched blood flows through the
umbilical cord to the liver and splits into three branches. The blood then reaches the inferior
vena cava, a major vein connected to the heart. Most of this blood is sent through the ductus
venosus, also a shunt that passes highly oxygenated blood through the liver to the inferior
vena cava and then to the right atrium of the heart. A small amount of this blood goes directly
to the liver to give it the oxygen and nutrients it needs. Waste products from the fetal blood
are transferred back across the placenta to the mother's blood.

How Does the Fetal Circulatory System Work?

During pregnancy, the fetal circulatory system works differently than after birth:

CLASSWORK FORMAT LEVEL II CCMC-CN

 R epubli c of t he P hil i ppi nes
CE B U TEC HNOLOG IC AL U NIVE R SITY
Mai n Camp u s
i n consort i um wi t h
CE B UC ITYME D IC ALC E NTE R -C OLLEG E OF NU R SING
N. Bacalso Avenue corner Panganiban Street, Cebu City, Cebu, 6000 Philippines
Tel. Nos. +63-032 – 3161987 or 3165128
Email address: ctuccmc_cn@ymail.com

 The fetus is connected by the umbilical cord to the placenta, the organ that develops and
implants in the mother's uterus during pregnancy.
 Through the blood vessels in the umbilical cord, the fetus receives all the necessary nutrition,
oxygen, and life support from the mother through the placenta.

 Waste products and carbon dioxide from the fetus are sent back through the umbilical cord
and placenta to the mother's circulation to be eliminated.

Inside the fetal heart:

 Blood enters the right atrium, the chamber on the upper right side of the heart. When the
blood enters the right atrium, most of it flows through the foramen ovale into the left atrium.
 Blood then passes into the left ventricle (lower chamber of the heart) and then to the aorta,
(the large artery coming from the heart).
 From the aorta, blood is sent to the heart muscle itself in addition to the brain. After
circulating there, the blood returns to the right atrium of the heart through the superior vena
cava. About two thirds of the blood will pass through the foramen ovale as described above,
but the remaining one third will pass into the right ventricle, toward the lungs.
 In the fetus, the placenta does the work of breathing instead of the lungs. As a result, only a
small amount of the blood continues on to the lungs. Most of this blood is bypassed or
shunted away from the lungs through the ductus arteriosus to the aorta. Most of the
circulation to the lower body is supplied by blood passing through the ductus arteriosus.
 This blood then enters the umbilical arteries and flows into the placenta. In the placenta,
carbon dioxide and waste products are released into the mother's circulatory system, and
oxygen and nutrients from the mother's blood are released into the fetus' blood.

Blood flow in the unborn baby follows this pathway:

 Oxygen and nutrients from the mother's blood are transferred across the placenta to the fetus
through the umbilical cord.
 This enriched blood flows through the umbilical vein toward the baby’s liver. There it moves
through a shunt called the ductus venosus.
 This allows some of the blood to go to the liver. But most of this highly oxygenated blood
flows to a large vessel called the inferior vena cava and then into the right atrium of the
heart. 

ORGAN SYSTEM INVOLVES:

CLASSWORK FORMAT LEVEL II CCMC-CN

 R epubli c of t he P hil i ppi nes
CE B U TEC HNOLOG IC AL U NIVE R SITY
Mai n Camp u s
i n consort i um wi t h
CE B UC ITYME D IC ALC E NTE R -C OLLEG E OF NU R SING
N. Bacalso Avenue corner Panganiban Street, Cebu City, Cebu, 6000 Philippines
Tel. Nos. +63-032 – 3161987 or 3165128
Email address: ctuccmc_cn@ymail.com

The mother's uterus fosters the environment for fetal growth and placental vitality. Every
organ system is involved in the process of fetal circulation because as the fetus grows and
develops it needs oxygen and nutrients that the blood supplies. The fetal blood will reach
every aspect of the growing fetus except for the liver and lungs which are bypassed.
However, the fetal arterial system will receive waste products that originated from those
organs. 

FUNCTION:

The fetal circulatory system provides the fetus with nutrients and oxygen, while also
removing waste products and carbon dioxide from fetal circulation.

CLASSWORK FORMAT LEVEL II CCMC-CN