Abstract
The placenta is a constant source of wonder to those who study it. The profligacy of nature in creating a structure that possesses so many of the functions of a whole organism, but which has a total life span of only nine months seems an amazing extravagance. In addition to being a microcosm, as Peter Beaconsfield aptly described it many years ago, it has its own specific and individual activity, and functions with less instruction than any other organ of the body.
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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York
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Genbačev, O., Klopper, A., Beaconsfield, R. (1989). General Introduction. In: Genbačev, O., Klopper, A., Beaconsfield, R. (eds) Placenta as a Model and a Source. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0823-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0823-2_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8100-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0823-2
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