(n) :
a vascular organ in
mammals, except
monotremes and
marsupials, present only in the female during
gestation. It supplies food and oxygen from the mother to the
foetus, and passes back waste. It is implanted in the wall of the
uterus and links to the
foetus through the
umbilical cord. It is expelled after birth; in flowering plants, the part of the
ovary where
ovules develop; in non-flowering plants where the
spores develop