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Life's Vital Link: The astonishing role of the placenta Reprint Edition

by Y. W. Loke (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 26 ratings
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The development of the placenta was a pivotal event in evolution. Without it, we would still be laying eggs instead of giving birth to live offspring. It represents the critical link between the foetus and the mother, but its character is extraordinary -- it is, in effect, a foreign tissue that invades the mother's body.

Compared to many other animals, the human placenta represents a particularly aggressive body. But how is it managed and controlled? How did such an organ evolve in the first place? And why is it tolerated by the mother? Y.W. Loke explores the nature of the placenta and what it can tell us about evolution, development, and genetics.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0199694524
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199694525
  3. Edition
    Reprint
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    July 24, 2018
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.6 x 0.7 x 5 inches
  8. Print length
    276 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review


"This fine book brings attention to an often-overlooked and discarded body organ, the placenta. Difficult terms are defined, acronyms are spelled out, and the author reviews and summaries. Popular and/or controversial topics [are] briefly discussed. Very helpful illustrative figures, a glossary, and chapter endnotes support the text." -E.R. Paterson, emeritus, SUNY College at Cortland, CHOICE


About the Author

Y. W. Loke, Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Immunology, University of Cambridge and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge

Professor Y. W. Loke, Fellow of King's College Cambridge, is a highly respected expert in the placenta and its implantation and development. He has published widely in academic journals.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (July 24, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 276 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199694524
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199694525
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 0.7 x 5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

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Y. W. Loke

Y. W. Loke

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
26 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. Halek
5.0 out of 5 stars For a book that is of this caliber.. ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2014
Verified Purchase
For a book that is of this caliber...you can't beat the price.. VALUABLE information here. Very medical model mode and a bit pretentious yet extremely informative!!!
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FineArtOfLiving
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
Highly recommended if you work in OB or just want to learn more about the amzing placenta.
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barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding book
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
Out standing book, an awesome amount of information
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Nooma
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2018
Love this book! I am a placenta encapsulation specialist and was looking to broaden my knowledge on the placenta. This does not read like a scientific study, it is not boring. Super interesting and easy to read. The author is able to captivate the audience while sharing such important information. This is a must read for anyone in the birthing community or someone just wanting to know more! Love it
2 people found this helpful
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Lady Fancifull
5.0 out of 5 stars Nature red in tooth and claw played out as compromise and co-operation in the womb
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2013
Professor Y.W. Loke has produced a deeply fascinating, clearly explained, yet not in any way insulting-in-its-simplicity, erudite, beautifully expressed book about the mysterious placenta

Mysterious because so many oppositional questions about it still remain unanswered. In fact, opposition appears to be the name of the placenta's game. As Loke points out, even biologists have expressed themselves unsure about the origins of the placenta - produced by mother, or baby? (Baby)

And what exactly is it? Loke traces the evolutionary development of reproduction, from water living animals such as fish and amphibians who produce eggs in water, to the need for hard shelled eggs on land, into mammalian development - and some odd mix and match half way there of some other species. He also shows that there is wide variation in the types of placentas in mammals, from those which are not closely embedded in the uterus (horses) to those like humans (and mice and armadillos amongst others) where the placenta embeds deep into the womb lining, and the mother's body needs to maintain a fine balance to avoid the over-invasive embedding of a gone-feral placenta!

This aspect gives rise to some interesting points of study and perhaps extending understanding about the behaviour of other type of cells which can take over and go feral - cancer cells. In fact, he shows how there is really a blurred line between the behaviour of a particular layer of cells at the placenta border, and cancer cells. This goes further, even suggesting a rationale for the development of cancer cells. The process of embedding and vascularisation, so necessary for the development of mammalian life, having more deadly effects when these cellular programmes occur outside the uterine environment of a pregnant woman. `Behaviour' in one place may be inappropriate in another! Within the interface where the newly fertilised ovum reaches its 9 month home, the `go, proliferate, embed' codes for the trophoblast (what will be placental cells) meet the `whoa, no further!' codes of the uterine decidua cells. In this place, embed codes and resist codes have a fine balance. In other areas codes for resistance may not have developed, because, normally, there was no need

He throws the gauntlet down for those who assume that homo sapiens is the most recent, therefore most developed and advanced species, and that the way WE do things (including placentas!) is the best way, and shows that of the 3 basic types of placenta, the deeply embedded probably was the earliest to evolve, (some very very early mammals had our type of placenta) whereas the more superficially attached to the womb placental types, in hoofed animals, is a more recent evolution. Horses rule!

And here is a fascinating within-the-womb story of the battle of the sexes Genes from the father promote the growth of the placenta, whilst maternal genes inhibit that growth. Without the father's genes promoting the placenta, the foetus would not be `fed' by the mother's blood supply and nutrients. But without maternal restraint the mother would not be able to conserve resources for her own survival. Or, as Loke puts it, the mother restricts the `predatory' activity of the placenta.

I could go on and on and even more on about this thought provoking and absolutely fascinating book, which for me, went far further than being purely a book about biology, and made me consider how all sorts of oppositional drives and conundrums are expressed in this mysterious structure, which, the more I read, seemed to be both itself, and inherently also symbolic and metaphorical. Self and other, selfishness and altruism, dependence and independence, generous surrender and despotic plunder, were all ideas which were being physicalized here.

Loke fascinatingly reminds us, too, that whilst the red-in-tooth-and-claw aggressive survival of the fittest idea of evolution has been the version most of us have for evolution (the version beloved by capitalism and all who seek to justify aggressive, competitive behaviour) that co-operation, mutuality and assimilation has ALWAYS been the equal and opposite drive. Without co-operation and mutuality not only could mammalian life not have happened - but any life as we know it. Plants, without which animal life could not have happened, owe their ability to photosynthesise to the fact that chloroplasts were `absorbed and assimilated' bacteria which were able to photosynthesise.
Mitochondria, the generators which convert oxygen into energy, within animal cells (including ours!) were originally oxygen breathing bacteria which colonised primitive organisms. Never mind cooperation between us-and-other-species - every species (including each individual within a species) is evidence of co-operation. What we regard as `self' is always , also, other

It may seem as if I have gone off into other personal, philosophical agendas here, rather than stayed within the confines of this book. Whereas, in truth, this is a large part of the power and brilliance of this book - the fact that what it is `about' inevitably pulls the reader into challenge and reflection and wider territories

A final little snippet before I hopefully have induced the intrigued potential reader to get the book for themselves and make their own absorbed journey, is this:

In the last 80 odd years, a new problem in childbirth has surfaced, a condition called `placenta accreta' whereby the placenta becomes so firmly adhered to the uterus that it can't be removed at birth. The complication that then ensues is severe after-birth bleeding. And the reason for this new, growing problem appears to be the increased fashion for caesarians - the natural lining of the womb inhibits the placenta from embedding too deeply into the womb, however, the scar tissue over previous Ceasarians, inhibits the formation of that part of the womb lining, the decidua, which prevents the placenta from invading the uterus too deeply.

"Prior Caesarian sectionis now recognised as the most important risk factor for placenta accrete, putting it into the category of an `iatrogenic disease - a condition that is the unfortunate side-effect of a clinical procedure'

I cannot though deny that some parts of the book will take close and concentrated reading - I have some familiarity with, an deep interest in, biological science, without being a scientist, just a very interested layperson with some background. Nevertheless there were lots of times when I had to read pages several times. This is NOT a problem of Loke's writing, he explains extremely well, but inevitably, some information, for example about the immune response, and genomic imprinting which may be linked with sex determining (X or Y) from sperm, is extremely complicated! And when he launched into the variation in cytokines, autocrines, paracrines with their various abbreviations, LIF, TGF-beta and the like I was whimpering a little! I only put this in as SOME of the material is very dense indeed.

If you want to know merely the `why' of it all, the grand overview, this is clear, readable and easy to grasp. But make NO mistake the `wherefore' gives detail that might need a greater knowledge of cellular biology than most laypersons - even those with a strong interest in the field - have

However, a fabulous book, for those who like well written science, which takes the reader on a wonderful journey

I received this as a review copy from Amazon Vine UK
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

T. Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2013
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
This is a terrific read from start to finish - the placenta is a remarkable beast (the author seems to regard it as a separate entity) acting as a guardian angel to the fetus: defending it from enemies, ensuring supplies of nutrients, and putting messages into the mother's brain to encourage proper nurture of the newborn (even implanting messages into the brain of the female fetus in preparation for future motherhood). I learned an enormous amount, also, about the development of the fetus and the difficulties it overcomes, as well as how a pregnancy proceeds. We are told at the beginning that there is still much about the placenta that is poorly understood, and that what we do know has to be constantly revised as new discoveries are made, but what we know already demonstrates what a remarkable thing the placenta is. There are, necessarily, a number of medical terms introduced, but everything is carefully defined, and the glossary is invaluable - especially as there are a lot of sets of initials involved - and the book is so involving that the occasional struggle is no burden. Professor Loke tells us right at the start that this is popular science; if everyone wrote this well about their subject, science would be even more popular; the reader is assumed to be a thinking adult, so the text is aimed at the thinking adult, with no euphemisms, attempts at humour or pointless digressions. More books like this, please.
One person found this helpful
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Jack Chakotay
4.0 out of 5 stars Best account of the placenta I have read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2013
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
With classical medical education covering embryology, there is something to be said of learning of the placenta this way. Although it may smack of pop science, I founf this book highly readable, with facts and timing of events sticking in my mind far readily than those initial embryology lectures.

There are a number of medical terms that can't be avoided but this is as clear as it gets. I would suggest the medical student to read this before the relevant section in Langman's. As for the layperson, you'll learn so much more than whatever pop science tv show that has covered this.
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Margaret7
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely outstanding.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2013
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
As a layperson with only what I remember from high school biology to go on, I was not sure what to expect. The placenta is such an unknown and unthought-of organ to most of us - yet without it, none of us would exist.

This wonderful, illuminating book shines an in-depth light onto what must be just about the most amazing organ there is. Its capabilities are beyond amazing. And it was completely fascinating to see it all through the enthusiastic and expert eyes of the author. Highly recommended.
Report
Lady Fancifull
5.0 out of 5 stars Nature red in tooth and claw played out as compromise and co-operation in the womb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2013
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
Professor Y.W. Loke has produced a deeply fascinating, clearly explained, yet not in any way insulting-in-its-simplicity, erudite, beautifully expressed book about the mysterious placenta

Mysterious because so many oppositional questions about it still remain unanswered. In fact, opposition appears to be the name of the placenta's game. As Loke points out, even biologists have expressed themselves unsure about the origins of the placenta - produced by mother, or baby? (Baby)

And what exactly is it? Loke traces the evolutionary development of reproduction, from water living animals such as fish and amphibians who produce eggs in water, to the need for hard shelled eggs on land, into mammalian development - and some odd mix and match half way there of some other species. He also shows that there is wide variation in the types of placentas in mammals, from those which are not closely embedded in the uterus (horses) to those like humans (and mice and armadillos amongst others) where the placenta embeds deep into the womb lining, and the mother's body needs to maintain a fine balance to avoid the over-invasive embedding of a gone-feral placenta!

This aspect gives rise to some interesting points of study and perhaps extending understanding about the behaviour of other type of cells which can take over and go feral - cancer cells. In fact, he shows how there is really a blurred line between the behaviour of a particular layer of cells at the placenta border, and cancer cells. This goes further, even suggesting a rationale for the development of cancer cells. The process of embedding and vascularisation, so necessary for the development of mammalian life, having more deadly effects when these cellular programmes occur outside the uterine environment of a pregnant woman. `Behaviour' in one place may be inappropriate in another! Within the interface where the newly fertilised ovum reaches its 9 month home, the `go, proliferate, embed' codes for the trophoblast (what will be placental cells) meet the `whoa, no further!' codes of the uterine decidua cells. In this place, embed codes and resist codes have a fine balance. In other areas codes for resistance may not have developed, because, normally, there was no need

He throws the gauntlet down for those who assume that homo sapiens is the most recent, therefore most developed and advanced species, and that the way WE do things (including placentas!) is the best way, and shows that of the 3 basic types of placenta, the deeply embedded probably was the earliest to evolve, (some very very early mammals had our type of placenta) whereas the more superficially attached to the womb placental types, in hoofed animals, is a more recent evolution. Horses rule!

And here is a fascinating within-the-womb story of the battle of the sexes Genes from the father promote the growth of the placenta, whilst maternal genes inhibit that growth. Without the father's genes promoting the placenta, the foetus would not be `fed' by the mother's blood supply and nutrients. But without maternal restraint the mother would not be able to conserve resources for her own survival. Or, as Loke puts it, the mother restricts the `predatory' activity of the placenta.

I could go on and on and even more on about this thought provoking and absolutely fascinating book, which for me, went far further than being purely a book about biology, and made me consider how all sorts of oppositional drives and conundrums are expressed in this mysterious structure, which, the more I read, seemed to be both itself, and inherently also symbolic and metaphorical. Self and other, selfishness and altruism, dependence and independence, generous surrender and despotic plunder, were all ideas which were being physicalized here.

Loke fascinatingly reminds us, too, that whilst the red-in-tooth-and-claw aggressive survival of the fittest idea of evolution has been the version most of us have for evolution (the version beloved by capitalism and all who seek to justify aggressive, competitive behaviour) that co-operation, mutuality and assimilation has ALWAYS been the equal and opposite drive. Without co-operation and mutuality not only could mammalian life not have happened - but any life as we know it. Plants, without which animal life could not have happened, owe their ability to photosynthesise to the fact that chloroplasts were `absorbed and assimilated' bacteria which were able to photosynthesise.
Mitochondria, the generators which convert oxygen into energy, within animal cells (including ours!) were originally oxygen breathing bacteria which colonised primitive organisms. Never mind cooperation between us-and-other-species - every species (including each individual within a species) is evidence of co-operation. What we regard as `self' is always , also, other

It may seem as if I have gone off into other personal, philosophical agendas here, rather than stayed within the confines of this book. Whereas, in truth, this is a large part of the power and brilliance of this book - the fact that what it is `about' inevitably pulls the reader into challenge and reflection and wider territories

A final little snippet before I hopefully have induced the intrigued potential reader to get the book for themselves and make their own absorbed journey, is this:

In the last 80 odd years, a new problem in childbirth has surfaced, a condition called `placenta accreta' whereby the placenta becomes so firmly adhered to the uterus that it can't be removed at birth. The complication that then ensues is severe after-birth bleeding. And the reason for this new, growing problem appears to be the increased fashion for caesarians - the natural lining of the womb inhibits the placenta from embedding too deeply into the womb, however, the scar tissue over previous Ceasarians, inhibits the formation of that part of the womb lining, the decidua, which prevents the placenta from invading the uterus too deeply.

"Prior Caesarian sectionis now recognised as the most important risk factor for placenta accrete, putting it into the category of an `iatrogenic disease - a condition that is the unfortunate side-effect of a clinical procedure'

I cannot though deny that some parts of the book will take close and concentrated reading - I have some familiarity with, an deep interest in, biological science, without being a scientist, just a very interested layperson with some background. Nevertheless there were lots of times when I had to read pages several times. This is NOT a problem of Loke's writing, he explains extremely well, but inevitably, some information, for example about the immune response, and genomic imprinting which may be linked with sex determining (X or Y) from sperm, is extremely complicated! And when he launched into the variation in cytokines, autocrines, paracrines with their various abbreviations, LIF, TGF-beta and the like I was whimpering a little! I only put this in as SOME of the material is very dense indeed.

If you want to know merely the `why' of it all, the grand overview, this is clear, readable and easy to grasp. But make NO mistake the `wherefore' gives detail that might need a greater knowledge of cellular biology than most laypersons - even those with a strong interest in the field - have

However, a fabulous book, for those who like well written science, which takes the reader on a wonderful journey
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Dinah85
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating organ
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2013
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
As a layman I was interested to read this book as someone who has suffered pre-eclampsia and HELLP in the past. Knowing the placenta can show the likelihood of pre-eclampsia within the first few weeks of pregnancy, I was eager to find out more about how it works. This book is extremely detailed and interesting, however I did find I was hesitant to pick it up and keep reading after the first few chapters - there is only so much placenta anyone can take!
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