Deoxygenated blood from the fetal heart returns to the maternal placenta via the

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In fetal circulation, the placenta is the site where blood exchanges gases with maternal blood. Deoxygenated blood that leaves the fetal heart is routed to the placenta through the umbilical arteries. These two vessels travel from the fetus to the placental villi and deliver blood that has not yet been oxygenated. There, gas exchange occurs, and the now-oxygenated blood returns to the fetus via the umbilical vein. The fetal aorta and other systemic vessels carry blood within the fetus, but the direct route back to the placenta is via the umbilical arteries. The maternal side is not a vessel carrying fetal blood, and the umbilical vein carries blood toward the fetus, not to the placenta.